Loving our "China Girl"

This Blog has moved

2009-04-04T13:23:00.002-06:00

I moved to our new blog a few months ago, and as of now, it is still open. EVENTUALLY I will go private, but it may be a while yet. So feel free and come on over: We're right here

Exciting, Exciting, Exciting!!

2008-11-18T13:16:00.001-07:00

Hey all, come on over here and CHECK IT OUT!!!!
Wohoooo!

National Adoption Day!

2008-11-15T20:49:00.003-07:00

Big KUDOS to my bloggy friend Kim who has done a wonderful job with her recent posts about adoption awareness.
I don't have anything real fancy to share to honor this day. At least these things may not seem huge to others, but to me - to US - they are.
They are two significant victories that have kind of crept up on me, and I can't even put a date on either of them. All of a sudden, however, I realized they are there. They really show just HOW far Nina has come in the 16 months she has been with us.
For a long time, when something did not go Nina's way, or she had to be disciplined, she would always shake her head when I told her that indeed I loved her.
She has completely stopped that.
For now, anyway.
She must be learning that our love does not depend on her actions, and that we love her regardless. Wow, this is so huge for her and for us! Praise God!
The other one is, that she has started to initiate heartfelt "I love you's". It's not just a bedtime ritual anymore, but will just come out of nowhere. Like I said, I don't know when I first realized that she was doing that - maybe two or three months ago, maybe less? It's one of those subtle things that did not stick out right away, I think because I knew she was happy and loved us for a lot longer than this.
Again, what a step.
I marvel at her making roots, and not just growing taller and more beautiful all the time, but growing deeper. She is holding that trust, that was so fragile and new, in the palm of her hand, and it's growing so beautifully! What a blessing beyond description, and what a miracle.
The miracle of adoption....
We love you, little girl!

Super-Mom after all??

2008-11-14T22:07:00.008-07:00

Well, maybe I can offer a little bit of redemption after my last day of posting :-))

This post is actually about a much dreaded part of parenting (or maybe more so of being a child) - CHORES!!

I have to admit that I have not been very good at establishing chores early on. Yes, the kids always had to help out some, mostly in the picking up area, setting the table and so on, but there has not been any rhyme or reason to it. Kind of like the unspoken "don't go into the kitchen at dinner time because you may get hit with the 'oh, by the way, would you please set the table' " kind of thing.

I don't even LIKE the term CHORES - it SOUNDS like this dreaded beast in the corner no one wants to face, it sounds like something dull, and boring, and totally unnecessary!

Does anyone hear me?

What I remember about having to do chores, is that it always seemed like something that had to be done so we would not have time for the fun things. Okay, one of the cool things to do when I was a teenager, was to go to the public swimming pool and hang out on afternoons with no school. I grew up in a tiny little Swiss town, so the swimming pool was about 4 miles and 3 towns away. We actually went to school there too (from 6 - 9th grade, anyway). Well, I really wanted to belong to the cool crowd, too (never did...), but going there was not something that was looked upon favorably at our house. So one afternoon I really wanted to go, but I was made to do yardwork. THEN I was promised I could go. Well, that yardwork was plentiful, and by the time I was done, the pool was about ready to close, especially by the time I would have rode my bike there!). Can you see why I don't feel all warm and fuzzy about CHORES?

Gosh, I'm not so sure about the direction this post is headed, but this little bit of my past just kind of spilled out. So, bear with me, I'll get back on track eventually :-)

My other thought lately had been "Why did families in the olden days have so many kids that would help with the daily work, when I feel like the more kids I have the more work I have to do"????
Honestly, re-instating CHORES at our house has been a pure act of survival. I just knew the kids needed to pitch in in a WAY bigger way than they have in the past if I did not want to go crazy!

I had made this cute little chores chart quite a while ago, but we didn't start using it until just a couple of weeks ago.

This is what it looks like:
And this is how it works:

There are things EVERYBODY is responsible for. They are the basics, and they are on the yellow paper. We call that "Code Yellow". Code Yellow are things like "Wash hands before every meal", "open your blinds in the morning", or "brush your teeth after every meal". As I said, the basics.

Then Mike and I tried to find 5 things that need to be done before dinner, 5 things that need to be done after dinner, and 5 things that need to be done at bedtime. We let the kids pick - which is actually hard for me, as I have a bit of a take-over personality. But I'm learning :-)), and we switch weekly. As far as the picking, the only rule is that everybody has to have one of the three categories, and I made the tags diffferent colors for that purpose.

It's not foolproof yet, but it's amazing the difference it's made so far! When everybody does just a little bit, so much can get done that I don't have to worry about. We need more kids now!! Haha!

Our ultimate goal is to not having to constantly remind them of doing their chores, and we're not sure of what incentives or consequences to implement. Does anyone have any great ideas??? Somthing that works?

If you're interested in the particular chores we have up for grabs, here they are:

Before dinner:

Pick up outside toys and make sure the garage door is closed
feed the cats, and clean the litter box
check garbage and recycling bins, and empty if necessary
set the table
be the kitchen helper (and I have something really cool for that in the works, but of course I can't give it away, otherwise it would not be a surprise for the kids!

After dinner:

pick up living room
pick up mudroom
load-unload dishwasher
sweep the kitchen floor
clear the table

Before bed:

pick up the bathroom
clean the bathroom sink and counter (and wipe down all the gross teeth cleaning leftovers and the spit on the faucet..... ohhhhh is that a pet pieve of mine!!)
put everyones dirty clothes in the laundry room
pick a book to read
lead prayer time

It's pretty cool to see how some of the dynamics of this work out. For example, Nina's chore this week is to put clothes in the laundry room. Well, our laundry room is in the basement, and she is scared of going down there by herself. I knew that, but she is the one who picked it, or it may have been the last one available. Every night one of her brothers has offered to go with her, so she would not have to go by herself.

The concept of working together is really neat to watch. Just tonight, as I helped in the little boys' room picking up hunderds of little iron-beads (or whatever they are called), Alex said: "Maybe we could ask the girls to come help us" (by the "girls", he meant Anya and her two friends that are spending the night, not Nina, who already had to help, very grudgingly on top of that :-)) ). The first thing that TRIED to come out my mouth was a lecturing "WELL, they did not dump them all over the floor!!!" (pretty loving, huh!!). But I bit my tongue and said "Sure, go ask them". Guess what, they were there in 2 seconds, helping to pick up!! I thought that was so cool (and yes, MUCH faster!). After that we read the book "Holey Moley" by Marcus Pfister (a SWISS author, very famous for his Rainbow fish books) - we just got it from the library - and as it was, it was about TEAMWORK!! It's a pretty cute story, and if you have kids that need a lesson in that, I can recommend it!

Now my favorite part about chores is the KITCHEN HELPER part. It's so fun to have that little bit of time with just ONE of the kids, and they can peel, stir, chop, or do other things like that. As I mentioned before, and I'm going to tease you with it just one more time, I have something so cute in the works for that one!!!!!!!! Can't wait for Christmas!

So, if you made it this far (see, I have so much more time for blogging now that I don't have to work so hard anymore!!!!!!), I want to know if someone can save me from the term CHORES!!

Can anyone think of calling it something else, something positive, something catchy?? You can even win a prize!! Not sure what, but I'm willing to fork out a reward for a GREAT idea!!

One GREAT idea that I want to share before I send this off, is this: A couple of years ago, during the summer, we would do a chore-hour. We went to the store and bought a new CD that we'd only listen to during chores. Not ANY other time. The pick at that time was "Veggie Rocks" (very fun if you're a Veggie Tales die hard!), and it worked like a charm. I watched one of our neighbor girls during that summer, and one day, before she went home, she begged me to wait with chores until she got to our house in the morning!! Gotta love stuff like that. Anyway, that was just an idea I thought I might as well throw out there!

So, get your thinking caps on, and help me get rid of the word CHORES - once and for all!!!!

One dollar, seventy-seven cents...

2008-11-12T10:10:00.008-07:00

While I'm on a roll, I might as well tell you that I can go fill up our car again all the way, and not just half way because I can't get myself to spend $75 at the pump!!
This is amazingly crazy!!
I know gas here is always pretty low compared to most of the nation, but right now, I'm just relieved....

Update:
11/12 2pm: $1.75
11/13 8pm: $1.69
11/15 6pm: $1.65
11/19 12pm: $1.63

One year ago...

2008-11-12T10:06:00.002-07:00

THIS happened.
Doesn't she look so LITTLE in these pictures??
Looking back, it was hard having to pack her around everywhere.
BUT, it was also an awesome time for bonding, for her to know that we are taking care of her, and to be "babied" for a whole six weeks!
Things always happen for a reason.....

Preschool pictures.... ooops, I guess not!

2008-11-12T08:39:00.008-07:00

Oh, the proud moments...
Nina has been looking forward to Preschool picture day ever since Anya had her school pictures taken last week.
She has preschool twice a week, so yesterday I chose to fore go the quick "let's throw a pony in your hair and brush it at least a little so you don't look like you have a mother who does not care" routine we often times have before preschool (will my life EVER not be rushed??), and washed her hair, blow dried it, and even made it go "under" so beautifully with a round brush. Yes, I do NOT own a curling iron. I'm sure you have noticed my hairdo, and there is just nothing to curl. Never owned one, and if I try my hand on one, I'm sure to burn my sweet daugther's ear (that of course has NOT happened to me - ahem....). Well, her hair was beautiful, we picked out a very cute outfit, and she was SO excited.
Until, until.....
Just making SURE pictures were the day I had in my mind, I called the preschool.
You may have guessed the outcome already.
They were last week.
....
....
....
....

JUST KIDDING.

They are TOMORROW, though, so all the primping was in vain.
Well, I guess not, as spending time with your daughter, making her feel beautiful, is never in vain. In fact, I should probably do it more often, as we both enjoyed it!

I took some pictures anyway. Anya did a good job keeping it light, and most pictures are actually the funny-goofy ones that just make your heart sing.

The "beautiful" ones...

(and really, Nina does NOT have an underbite, even though some of her cute little grins make it look like it!)

The ones that "make my heart sing"

And the "plain silly" ones last :-))

While I'm telling embarrassing stories, do you want to hear another one?
THIS one is really bad.
And true.
Sadly.
It was the day before Halloween, and Nina went to ballet (which she loves).
When we got there, I noticed all the little girls wearing beautiful princess costumes over their leotards.
"That's right!" - I thought, as I faintly remembered something about the girls being able to dress up. Not sure where I had heard about it, but if there is not something in WRITING, more than likely I will not remember to actually do it when the time comes (I used to get so annoyed with reminder phone calls from Dr's offices - after all, who do they think I am? - I would NEVER forget an important thing like that! NOW, however, I'm even inclined to ask my HAIRDRESSER to give me a reminder call, heck, if the grocery store would just call me and remind me that I only have 2 drops of milk left, I would LOVE it!!)
Anyway, back to the original story. I think I'm procrastinating telling you the truth, and nothing but the truth....
I decided - "well, there is no use driving home to get a costume now, Nina just has to do without, and she can dress up later at home". Sounded VERY reasonable. Off I went, running a couple of errands with Anya.
After 45 minutes, we came back to the studio. Not ONE Mom was waiting in the waiting room. Hmmmm, I thought to myself, this IS kind of odd....
When I peaked through the one-way glass, I froze.
There were all the Moms, dancing with their little princesses.
All of them, except for one little girl with NO fancy dress, who had to twirl around with the instructor, because her Mom had not remembered (and I seriously still don't!) that it was Mom and daughter class.
Nina, thank goodness, was a trooper, and I'm really, really hoping that this will be a memory that she will forget *sigh*

And why am I telling you all this? Honestly, I'm not sure. Maybe because I don't want you to EVER think that I'm some kind of Super-Mom.

Just like you, I live by grace, and by knowing that no matter my shortcomings, God is in control, and HE loves my kids more than I ever could.

And it is my prayer that because of my failures and faults, my kids will turn to the God who will never "fail them nor forsake them", and they will find comfort in HIM!

A must read "post-election"

2008-11-05T09:21:00.002-07:00

I would like to share a few more things later, but for now I would really, really like you to go here and read THIS post!

That's right, I was going to tell you about our pumpkins....

2008-10-31T23:30:00.003-06:00

Now without "revealing" too much personal info, we live in a town that has a Wal Mart, a K-Mart, and three grocery stores. Yesterday afternoon we set out to buy some pumpkins for us to carve.
Others were too. Obviously.
NO PUMPKINS WERE TO BE FOUND - anywhere in town (and stealing it from the neighbor's yard somehow did not seem like the right thing to do *LOL*).

We were really bummed. After all, the temperature was close to 70 degrees, and we could have carved pumpkins outside!! Not something that happens every year in Wyoming!

That's when I broke down and bought the gingerbread haunted house that was on sale, and that I was sure would taste horrible (it does!). But I knew it would pacify the kids.
I told Anya before our last grocery stop that it would have to be God if there were any pumpkins. You already know the rest of the story - there weren't any.

Then it was time for us to go to Nina's preschool, and she had a cute little Halloween celebration. We played games, ate snacks... Nina was happy....
Before we left, Anya told one of Nina's teachers that we tried to buy pumpkins, but that there weren't any left in any of the stores. Then God - I mean, Miss Marcia - said to Anya: "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that. We have 2 big pumpkins right here, we'll throw them away after today, why don't you take them home with you!"

And so we walked out of there with 2 big pumpkins, one small one, and even 2 little mini-pumpkins!! Praise God!!

I had bought one pumpkin a while ago, and to my surprise, the cold nights had not turned it to mush yet, so we had plenty of pumpkins to carve!!

Boo-rrrrreakfast time!!!

2008-10-31T10:20:00.000-06:00

Seriously, the kids DREAD breakfast on Halloween morning.

It's one of those love-hate relationships: They LOVE the anticipation and the looks of it, but HATE to actually having to eat it :-)
Nico's comment this morning was "I hope they have cereal for breakfast at school" (our school has a free breakfast program), thinking that it would be a more edible solution for his early morning hunger pains.

I have to say though, Elia and Nina were troopers, and gobbled it down (I think Nina was motivated by the prospects of CANDY, which she knows she won't get if she doesn't eat her meal!!)

On the menu: Orange bread, worms, and 100year old eggs with bloody maggots, as well as Blood-'n-bile with eyeball icecubes to drink (oh, and just a LITTLE infested with worms and spiders, too!)

Last night we decorated this Gingerbread haunted house. I bought it because there were NO pumpkins to be found all over town!! We did end up carving some anyway, but this is a cool story for later today :-))

Dressing up....

2008-10-31T10:19:00.003-06:00

Just in case you need some ideas yet for your four-legged friends!!

The power of looking back...

2008-10-31T00:00:00.005-06:00

Looking FORWARD seems to be the progressive and efficient way to look at things.

Don't dwell on the past.

Keep going.

I, however, find much peace in looking BACK.

Cherishing memories.

Thinking of tiny little toes and scrunched up little faces.

Recalling funny stories, like Nico asking: "Do they play tennis in Tennessee?"

In adoption, there is very little past, or at least very little KNOWN past, and very little TOGETHER past.

Still, I love to look back at our time with Nina. Really, adopting her has not been the easiest thing I have done in my life, even though I have NO regrets.

But looking BACK at our early pictures with her, feeling those feelings of "love at first sight" all over again, are very powerful when I feel overwhelmed and defeated.

It helps me feel at peace, knowing how far we have come. Seeing her grow up, I see how the Lord's arms have carried us this entire time.

I see us as a family...

It's been a year since I took these pictures - It was such a beautiful, warm Fall day, and I love the pictures, as they captured Nina so well.

This afternoon the weather was even nicer, I think, so we went back to the same place (really, just down the street from our house), for a quick "one year later" photo shoot. Now Miss Nina is not as eager of a subject anymore, but I was able to get some CUTE pictures of her. Isn't it amazing how much she has grown???

(I have more pictures, but these are some of my favorites)

Preparing for Halloween....

2008-10-30T22:09:00.004-06:00

Not that I like Halloween. Pretty much the opposite (said that last year already, I know, I know...).

But, boy, the schools do. My younger kids have been in overdrive creating bats, witches and pumpkins, and I have two doors decorated with their masterpieces (Alex was a bit upset that I did not hang up his witch, but I just had to draw the line somewhere... )

So, tonight I'm gearing up for our traditional Halloween breakfast, and it's going to be FUN!!!

To give you a little glimpse, just look at my "helper"!

It's going to be YUMMY!!

When you're too old to trick-or-treat...

2008-10-30T20:17:00.003-06:00

Anyone else need an excuse NOT to go trick-or-treating tomorrow???
Maybe this will help :-)))

You know you are too old to Trick or Treat when:

10. You get winded from knocking on the door.
9. You have to have another kid chew the candy for you.
8. You ask for high fiber candy only.
7. When someone drops a candy bar in your bag, you lose your balance and fall over.
6. People say: 'Great Boris Karloff Mask,' And you're not wearing a mask.
5. When the door opens you yell, 'Trick or...' And can't remember the rest.
4. By the end of the night, you have a bag full of restraining orders.
3. You have to carefully choose a costume that won't dislodge your hairpiece.
2. You're the only Power Ranger in the neighborhood with a walker.

And the number one reason Seniors should not go (that starts at below 40, right??)
Trick Or Treating...

1. You keep having to go home to pee.

.

Please pray for this family...

2008-10-24T22:02:00.002-06:00

I came across the story of a family that is really touching me...
Anytime I hear of parents faced with the loss of a child, it just breaks my heart.
We've seen the pain in the faces of friends and aquaintances, but have obviously not had to endure it ourselves.
I don't know this couple, but really have it on my heart to ask you to lift them and their little girl, Kara, up in prayers.
Here is their blog

Hug your kids tonight....

I'm still so young, and have a looooong ways to go :-))

2008-10-21T23:40:00.005-06:00

I found this fun site on another blog.....
Life expectancy calculator
Wow, my virtual age is only 19 1/2, and I'm supposed to get to 93 1/2 years old. That's another 55 years!!! Do I really want to live that long?????
Anyway, it's just simple entertainment, just in case you don't have anything else to do (like me who should be SLEEPING!)

What's wrong with this picture???

2008-10-11T09:34:00.004-06:00

I have an urgent Birthday post, but I could not resist to show you THESE pictures first.

Consider this my yearly WHINE post. I might as well get it out of my system.
IT'S SNOWING IN WYOMING!!!!!!!
Really, after 14 years in this area, I should know.
And every year it amazes me like it is the first time I witness a full blown snow storm in October.
I was ouf of town for a conference to keep up my certification in sleep medicine (I seriously did have a "career" before being a full-time Mom - interesting, huh!), but I cut it short because of the mentioned birthday and another soccer tournament (that got cancelled due to the weather), and I made it home before it got bad!

The kids are outside sledding, THEY are so excited!!!

Happy Birthday, Nico!

2008-10-10T07:33:00.001-06:00

Happy Birthday to a very cool young man!! Nico turned 11 on the 10th (yes - 10/10!!), and he had anxiously awaited this special day. His wishlist had been quite extensive, and we told him for weeks we had already bought him a Barbie Castle, and we were not going to buy him the Lego set he really wanted! He won't really admit it, but I think he was a little nervous about our choice of gift, but in the end, he was pleasantly surprised as he got just what he wanted :-))

Allright, he DID get a Barbie Birthday card, which he claims is not his, but he gladly accepted the birthday money that was in it from the Grandparents. Huhhh??? Anyone else confused?

Gosh, he is such a fun guy to hang out with. Always THINKING, coming up with stuff, curious about life and how it works, and how society works (he really wants to vote too!). Always looking for ways to pull a prank on people (LOVES to scare me! This kid has scared me so badly it made me cry!! Seriously!). He is creative, especially when it comes to LEGOS, loves anything that has to do with planes and wants to be a pilot someday (please - only for an airline that has international flights!!), and still likes it when we lay down with him at night (he has been that way since he was very little). That's when he likes to talk, that's when he really opens up, and those times are very special!

We are so proud of him, and even though it's hard for him sometimes to be the oldest, he has 4 little followers that just adore him. Yes, some of them in a more bickering way if you know what I mean :-))

Since I was gone for most of his birthday and didn't get home from my training until late afternoon, the cake making thing had to happen fast. I think Nico was so happy that he even GOT a cake, he put very few demands on it. Nina had actually been quite concerned about him not getting a cake, so it was a relief for her to have me home :-)). Mike had done a great job celebrating Nico while I was gone - complete with Birtday decorations and a special breakfast. I think this may have been the first time ever that he was in charge of that, and he did great!

So, anyway, back to the cake.... Nico wanted brownies, as he LOVES them, so his little brownie cake was quite tasty!! How could it NOT - it was made with Swiss Chocolate!! Yumm!
On to another year - we love you bud!

Meet Velma!

2008-10-02T09:22:00.009-06:00

I'm not sure about this, but I'm ASSUMING my kids are not the only ones who do this.... or are they?

Whenever they have a favorite movie (the one they watch over, and over, and over, and over again.....) - they assign "roles".

For example - Kung Fu Panda - Anya is Tigress, Nina is Viper, Alex is Monkey, Elia is Mantis, Nico is Po, Mike is Master Shifu, and I'm the wise turtle :-))
(Oh, do you want to hear a funny airplane story? On our way back from Switzerland they showed Kung Fu Panda on the plane, and Elia watched, and laughed and giggled.... . Once we were home, he talked about watching the movie, and he said with a shrug: "But it was in a different language"..... that goofball watched the movie in a foreign language, and never said a word. He told me "I know what they were saying anyway!" Silly kid!)

Same went for the movies "Cars", "Over the Hedge" , "Open Season", and so on.

Well, the latest craze at our house is about Scooby Doo. The boys have really liked Scooby for a long time, and the girls are totally into it too. Well, Nina more so than Anya.

To be honest with you, I DO NOT UNDERSTAND... Maybe I'm just not "American" enough (Mike said he grew up with Scooby), but I think this show is so out there. I'll spare you my other opinions about Scooby *LOL*

Anyway, all kids have their roles - again: Nico is Shaggy, Anya is Daphne, Alex is Freddy, Elia is Scooby, Nina is Velma, and Daddy is the Mystery machine *Haha*

And Miss Nina CANNOT stand watching Scooby Doo without her Velma glasses!! It's hilarious!

Here she is!

Amazing!

2008-09-28T15:18:00.005-06:00

Here is the latest video I've been working on.
We had a chance to go watch our favorite Big'e Anja train. She does aerial skiing competitively, and although I only have footage of her doing it "on water", she will actually perform her jumps on snow (once there is some).
Let me tell you - standing at the top of that ramp is quite something (scary, freaky, and more along those lines), and I could never, ever do what she does!!
Look for yourself!
(For my "newer" blog readers - Anja is my cousin's daughter from Switzerland, and one year ago she came to stay with us for three months)

This really means a lot to her...

2008-09-27T16:22:00.004-06:00

This is so fitting....
This morning I did a little bit of cleaning before the kids woke up, and I came across one of Anya's writings. I will tell you again - I just love anything she writes!
Anyway, she wrote about her last trip to Switzerland, and her impressions of this country that is so dear to her. She would love to live on a farm in Switzerland, she says.
Here is how she sees it (I'm typing it just like she did)

Riding planes is so much work! Here is my airplane schedule. First, we drove to **** (removed for privacy reasons). We took a plane to Salt Lake City. From Salt Lake City to Atlanta. Then eight long hours on a plane to Switzerland. (It was worth it!)

When we got to Switzerland our swiss family was waiting for us. Not all of our family was there though, but soon enough we would see them! So let me introduce my swiss family.

My cousins are Moritz age 13, Rico age 10, Kaya age 7, Loyel age 5, my Aunt and Uncle Hanna and Bruno, and My grandma and grandpa.

Sometimes we spend the night at Grandma's or my aunt's. When we spend the night at my grandma's house, our grandpa takes us for a drive. In his car he has swiss mints. When you take one he laughs and says "toech nuemal enie!" (Take another one!) When we spend the night at my aunt's house we play on their playground. When it's time to go inside we crawl into our sleeping bags, say prayers, then go to sleep. In the morning when we wake up we go down the spiral staircase and go sit in the booth. My aunt has a glass stained table, a wooden bench with cushions, and a hammock.

I have a cousin Anja. My name is Anya as well. Exept her name is spelled A-N-J-A. My name is spelled A-N-Y-A. So when my cousin came we called her Biga Anja. So they called my little Anya. Biga-Anja got along well. When she was here we didn't have a baby-sitter!

We didn't drive that much. We usually walked everywhere we went. At my Aunt's house there is a little pathway that leads up to the woods. When we go there we pack a lunch. Once we hike up there we turn and find what we call Big Rock. We play hide-and go - seek!

School there is very diffrent. You have to go to Kindergarten twice. But here is the good part you only have to go in the morning! The starting of first grade is when you go full time. But you get to go home for lunch!

Here is the part you've all been waiting for... the chocolate part! We never go home without it! Speaking of home it's time to go home!

Switzerland is the best you should go there! It's the best!

Another Swiss Farm impression :-)

2008-09-27T11:57:00.004-06:00

This was one of Elia's favorite moments - watching the little piglets when we visited my brother's family.
The scene in the video happened over and over and over. We watched them for quite a while. They were sooo curious, but so skittish, too, and it was plain funny!

There's no place like home...

2008-09-27T08:44:00.002-06:00

This was a grueling trip...
I really can't complain, and the kids were as good as they could possibly be, but it's long, long, long!! The overseas portion was a good 10 hours, and no one slept. Then we had a 5+ hours layover, and that was tough, but I made the kids lay down, and they slept for most of that. I spent those hours working on a fun little project that I'll share later (wink to Big'e Anja - yep, it's coming, girlfriend!!). Of course the last flight, which was only a little over one hour, seemed to drag on FOREVER, and after having been awake for 24 hours, I deliriously dozed for part of it. Well, I had some EXCITED kids at the airport!!!
Now, I have to brag about my sweet and thoughtful big girl (and after all, she is only 9!!). She had a little welcome present for all three of us, a welcome at home, and she already had milk poured for Elia and Nina, so when we got home, she popped their cups in the microwave, and had their drinks ready to go. How sweet is that!!
We all slept quite well, and so far this morning we've been digging through suitcases, feasting on Chocolate (who needs breakfast, anyway!!)
It's good to be home...

Zoo!

2008-09-25T13:11:00.004-06:00

Allright, this is my last post from Switzerland :-(
Suitcases are packed, full of CHOCOLATE, of course, and other goodies and special surprises for the family at home (sorry for teasing, you "Far-away-ers").
Tomorrow, we'll be on the road by 5:30, and we're home by 9:20pm. I know this does not sound bad, but then please add 8 hours for the time difference - I would REALLY like for all of you to feel sorry for me!! Haha, just kidding, we'll be fine. Tired, but fine (I hope...)
We had another fun day at the Zoo today, and I'll throw some more pictures at you, and then I'm done blogging until I'm on my home turf....

Wild west kids meet Swiss farm...

2008-09-25T00:03:00.007-06:00

We had a great day yesterday visiting with my brother, his family, and more family, and more friends :-))
The kids had a blast, and Nina is completely astounded by all those new cousins!! Last night, she came over to me and whispered in my ear: "I have five big cousins, I counted". Of course, remembering names was kind of too much for her, but they even LISTENED to "cousin!!". They played and played, and we went and looked at some neighborhood farm animals ( I have some funny videos, too, but Youtube is down right now), even some goats!! And we ate all day - it was wonderful!!!
I would have many more stories, and late last night on our way home wayyyy past Elia's bed time, his "eyes were not ready to sleep" and he talked non-stop (big surprise, I know), but we had some of the most precious conversations, and I may share about those at a later point.
Right now, I have to get the two sleepy-heads up, and get ready to head to the Zoo with my niece and Elia's Godmother Dina and her hubby....
I know it'r rough being on vacation :-))

Elia sniffing a Swiss manure pile *LOL*Playmobil City!!
Some farm impressions for you!
Cousins, uncles, aunts, and other wonderful people...

Does this look enough Swiss for you???

2008-09-23T01:24:00.003-06:00

Here are just a few pictures I took on a daytrip yesterday.
Yes, you may drool - it IS a beautiful country!!
Nice brother *haha*

Swiss kids (after all, they are 5/8th Swiss - no kidding!)

The view from the top of the mountain

And no, they are NOT enjoying the spectacular view of the Swiss Alps, but merely spitting over the wall :-)

On the way down by train

Do you remember this?

2008-09-18T04:39:00.001-06:00

Do you remember this post?

I just found this video, and just had to follow up on my own posting *Haha*
Here you go:

Jet lag is a beautiful thing Haha

2008-09-18T03:58:00.002-06:00

We made it!
Good kids, uneventful flights (no turbulences, thank God!), and now they are SLEEPING! I think Nina and Elia are going on 15 - 16 hours right now. And they are OUT. I've tried waking them up, but no such luck. It's almost noon here by now, and it would probably be good if their day would start sometime soon :-))
Elia was SO excited when we boarded our first flight (in one of those tiny little airplanes). Although this was his third time making this overseas trip, it seemed so new to him, and his eyes sparkled, and he laughed and talked pretty much nonstop. It was this kind of talk:
"Mama, is the plane gonna go fast now? Hey, Nina, the plane is going to go super fast - oh, it's going...... uhhhhhh, this is fun....... ohhhh, this is scary, we're going to die, whheeeeee......, yeah, we're up in the air now..... " all the while his eyes are huge with excitement. He is so funny!
Our "big" plane, leaving from Salt Lake City a couple of hours later, however, had Nina totally stumped. A couple of hours into the flight, while we're served dinner, she asked: "Mama, are we eating dinner just sitting here on the ground? " She seriously did not believe me when I told her we had been flying for quite some time already. Gotta love those big, smooth planes!
Anyway, we had quite a welcome reception at the airport, and the kids were so excited to see the family they love, but see so rarely. Nina was a little shy since she really didn't know anyone except for my sister, her youngest daughter, and Big'e Anja.
She definitely has some fears in her little heart about the finality of this trip. We've talked quite a bit about VISITING , and then going back HOME, but she has made comments about having to stay here. Last time she flew with us, it was a final thing too, and even though she doesn't seem afraid, she has to learn again that she is stuck with us forever (poor thing! Haha!), and we're not going anywhere without her.
They both received some sweet treats from their favorite "Gotti's" (=Godmothers), and that of course won Nina over right away!
Did I ever tell her that in EVERY report from China is said that she loved candy. Boy, that was the truth!
Anyway, I will try to do some blogging while I'm here (Yes, I feel like a total geek now, I traveled with my laptop for the first time ever!), and even though the weather is cold and a bit gloomy (welcome to a Swiss Fall!), I'll hopefully get some nice scenery shots for all of you! If there is something in particular that interests you, let me know!
I'll leave you with a picture of my sleeping beauties - about 15 hours into their "night" :-))

So lame!

2008-09-11T22:41:00.002-06:00

I know, I know, you're wondering what happend to us??
Do you REALLY want to know??
Well, here you have it:
Nina started preschool and ballet - loves both.
Everyone else is playing soccer, so - between practices, games, tournaments, swimming, ballet and school, oh yes, and a little bit of work *haha* - I have NO time for anything else.
And guess what - I'm leaving for Switzerland in FIVE days!! Yes, that's totally a reason to cheer (Nina and Elia are going with me), but I have so much stuff to do get done yet!!!
Anyone want to come help???
So, no time for blogging for this girl.
Sorry!!

Last day of SUMMER

2008-09-01T10:35:00.002-06:00

Oh, it took a lot of begging, but if I had only one word to describe Alex, it would be PERSISTENCE! He has been begging and hinting and pleading for weeks to go a certain amusement park in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
He finally got his way, and Grandma and Grandpa took the whole crew there yesterday. It was hot, in the 90's (which is very high for this time of the year in our area), so they especially enjoyed the bumper boats and soaked each other good!
I included quite a few pictures in the collage below, so just click on it to enlarge it!
Today is a different story, as it is quite cold (only in the mid 50's right now), so I'm glad we went yesterday.

Something just HAD to happen....

2008-08-27T21:53:00.004-06:00

...to that little Kindergartener :-))
Well, when the boys got off the bus this afternoon, there was no sign of Elia anywhere.
OH -OH!!!
Where was he? Nico and Alex said they saw him in the bus line. The bus driver even went to the back of the bus and checked for him everywhere. Nope, not there!
I called the school, and they called the bus garage, and they paged the other bus drivers, and they finally found him. Somehow he ended up getting on the wrong bus.
I have to say, I was not worried about him being on the wrong bus. He doesn't get scared very easily. What worried me is wondering if he just decided to walk home, maybe because he missed the bus??? I would so not be surprised if he'd pull something like that.
But in ended up being okay. The other bus driver brought him home at the end of his normal route, only about an hour later than anticipated.
And tonight, his eyes had that dangerous little sparkle in them when he proudly told Mike "Guess what, Daddy, I was on the wrong bus!"
Just pray for grace for that little boy.....

Salon Beauties

2008-08-27T13:05:00.004-06:00

While the boys are at school, the girls get to do the fun things.... like getting haircuts and going to lunch with Daddy.

Nina really, really needed a haircut, and her hair is almost the same length now all the way around. Given how short it was 14 months ago, it is growing so fast (she cut off at least 2 inches in the back!) !

Anya wanted some layers in hers, and of course she is always beautiful (yep, I'm biased :-)) )

Just thought I'd share the new hairdo's...

One excited Kindergarten boy...

2008-08-27T08:52:00.006-06:00

Elia has been bouncing off the wall from the moment he got up this morning.

FINALLY...

His day had come, when he would ride the bus to school, get his own lunchbox, and all those exciting things that he watched his siblings do for five years now. Yesterday was only orientation for one hour, and that's always such a letdown for the excited kids.

But today was the REAL DEAL!!

Just look at his eyes, and you'll see just HOW happy he is....

Whewww, made it!

2008-08-26T20:43:00.005-06:00

First day of school is over!
I think everyone had a pretty good day, although Anya has been a little bit teary all day. I really, really hope that she will like being home for school, but I guess only time will tell *sigh*

Here are a few pictures of our day...

Elia at his Kindergarten orientation

This afternoon, we headed to the park, where Anya did a hands-on science project.

And then we did lots of "dressing up nature style", and building a sand castle.

'twas the night before school started....

2008-08-25T21:27:00.004-06:00

... and the emotions are very mixed around here.
Nico feels "weird" going back to "regular" public school.
Anya wishes she could go back to "regular" public school (she chose to do the virtual school from home this year)
Alex is worried about finding his new classroom in the morning.
Elia is SUPER excited, eyes glowing kind of excited about starting Kindergarten tomorrow.
Nina had a complete meltdown at the school tonight (we brought supplies and met the teachers), worrying about preschool, and about who was going to be there for her and taking care of her, and was saying totally strange stuff like "but nobody is going to hold my legs", and "I'm going to get shots at my preschool" and sobbing her little eyes out. The whole madhouse atmosphere was obviously too much for her. I explained that at her school she could play and have fun and color and go on the playground and listen to stories, and that Mrs. Terrell was going to take good care of her. She calmed down some, but I sure do wonder how it's going to be next week when she starts.

Anyway, I'm not sure what to think about a new school year either. I'm glad to have a little bit more room to breathe during the day, and to have a little more structure again, but it's also sad to have the kids gone so much. I can't imagine my days without Elia, to be honest, and I really enjoyed having Nico home last year. This year will be a "girly year", and I think that will be really good for us, too!

We had a little before-school celebration with a yummy dessert before bedtime, the little boys got their hair cut (so did Daddy), their clothes are laid out, bread is baked for their lunchboxes, and they want waffles for breakfast, so the important stuff is squared away, right??
The Lord will be watching over my little warriors going out into the world tomorrow, and oh my gosh, I'm getting all teary now.....

Time to call it a post, I guess :-)

Tomorrow I will have beautiful NEW pictures, I promise!

The pictures below are from past "First days of school".

2003, and Nico's first day of KindergartenElia and Anya, the same year
2004, Anya's first day of Kindergarten, Nico in 1st grade
2005. Nico in 2nd grade, Anya in 1st grade
2006. Alex in Kindergarten, Anya in 2nd, Nico in 3rd grade.
2007. Alex in 1st, Anya in 3rd, Nico in 4th grade.

Please pray....

2008-08-18T09:32:00.002-06:00

This story has made national news this morning....
Our former church here in town has always supported this ministry, and I have heard Pat Klein speak. It's AMAZING what he and his group have done, and how the Lord has protected them over and over again!
Please pray for their safety, and that these bibles will be returned to them, or bless SOMEONE, regardless!

So happy!

2008-08-11T14:23:00.000-06:00

Better than Beijing (closer, anyway!)

2008-08-10T22:05:00.001-06:00

We're enjoying the benefits of having a pyrotechnic guild convention in our town. All week long we will have firework displays that take your breath away: The newest, the coolest, the fanciest... you name it! Bonus #2: We can watch it from our yard!! Wohoo! And you guessed right: I had to find out how my new camera would fare with fireworks. I think the pictures turned out in a fun and imperfect way!

When distance is no longer...

2008-08-09T20:01:00.004-06:00

The internet is an interesting thing.

I have "met" some wonderful people through this blog. People who share similar stories, and most of all, are adoptive parents like ourselves. It's this little "insider" connection, a wonderful support system, and so many of you have really made an impact in my life.
But it's also a "safe" way to connect with people, because you only know certain aspects of someone's life. You don't meet regularly, you don't get on anyone's nerves, and others don't even know your bad habits!
It's easy to be likeable and to like others.
And that's kind of nice, I admit!

This week, however, a wonderful family, and me and my three younger kids chose to step out of that comfortable "virtual friendship" zone and go on a "blind date" in the real world. It was a little nerve wracking and exciting at the same time....

It was wonderful!
You may know Linda from her Blog, and you may even remember our connection from this post.
We just had a very, very nice time together, shared a couple of delicious meals, and the kids hit it off and played nicely at the park and in their "infamous" backyard pool.
Thank you so much, Linda and Bob and girls for opening your house and your hearts to these almost complete strangers!
Until next time!

PS: No, we do NOT live THAT close. Nothing is close in our part of the country (except for Super WalMart *LOL*). Visiting Linda's family was a 2 day adventure, with driving time of close to 5 hours one way :-))

Forever and ever our kiddo...

2008-08-05T14:38:00.004-06:00

Nina's readoption hearing was this morning.
We did NOT miss it *ha*...
It took the little girl a loooong time to decide what would be fancy enough to wear, and she finally decided on her brown skirt and a purple blouse she had not worn before (this child has way too many summer clothes!!). I fixed her hair to her liking, and even bought her a dozen roses. She felt very lady-like!!

The future of this blog

2008-08-04T22:13:00.002-06:00

It's been just a little over 2 years ago since we started the journey to find our daughter.
Wow, 2 years.
I cannot imagine our family WITHOUT Nina anymore. Sometimes when people give me those curious "hmmm, why does this lady have an asian child?"glances, it strikes me as odd, just because I don't see her as THAT different anymore. Of course I'm aware that she looks nothing like me, but it so doesn't matter to me. She is my daughter. End of story.

We have done all the official steps, and tomorrow our state will recognize Nina as its "own" as well. I have been talking with her about what's happening tomorrow, and the most important thing to her is that she gets to wear something "fancy" (what more can a girl wish for :-)) ).
I told her that we will be going to the big building across the street from Daddy's office, and that they will tell us that Nina Gabriella FuBo is our kiddo forever and ever and ever! She really likes that too....

With this last requirement also comes another milestone...

I will be closing this blog pretty soon, as it has had Nina's adoption as its focus.

Don't despair...

I'm too hooked to the blogging world and love my bloggin' buddies, plus it's a great way to keep friends and family all over the world updated and "in our living room".
However, our new blog will be password protected, and anyone who would like to stay in touch through our blog, will need to get invited. How do you do that? You simply send me an email to wyochinagirl@gmail.com.

This new blog will not happen overnight, as I need to find someone who will come up with a cool Blog design (any suggestions??).
I also need a new NAME for the blog, and I would love to hear some fun ideas from you all!
If you know us personally, then I would just kindly ask you to refrain from any ideas that include our last name, or the city we live in, as I have been trying to protect the privacy of our family in this blog (more or less successful)

Off to bed I go, so I'll be ready to listen to the judge tomorrow, as he will remind us that Nina Gabriella FuBo is our kiddo forever and ever....

Another funny one...

2008-08-04T19:22:00.002-06:00

This happened a few days ago....
I was sitting at my laptop, either feeding my blogging habit, or actually doing some "real work" - don't remember which one :-)
Anyway, Nina was sitting right next to me, and she kept asking me if I would play a game with her. Oh, now I remember, I think I was finishing writing an email. I had told her "just a minute" at least once already, but that statement ususally goes completely unnoticed. So after a few more "Mama, will you play this game with me?" in quick succession, and obviously getting frustrated with my lack of answering, she did the funniest little thing: She curved her little finger, tapped her knuckle on my cheek a couple of times and chirped: "Mamaaaa - knock, knock!!"

Sadest thing ever....

2008-08-03T07:38:00.002-06:00

I'm going to be a little mean, but since Anya is going to camp today, and won't see it for a while, I'll post them....
Almost as soon as we got back from vacation, we had a family come and pick out one of our kittens. Well, they decided on getting the "snuggly one", which means it was Spooky, the girls' favorite.
Imagine the drama, and the pain in those sisters' little hearts. I know the kids had secretly hoped they could keep the kittens after all, but that was just not an option. I admit though, that Spooky was a cute little thing!
The pictures below were just too much ~ I assure you, Anya smiles at them now, too!
She is just a "feely" girl. Her emotions are always so intense, so real, so all-consuming. And while I love that about her, it also makes for incredible drama.
That Nina fell apart, too, surprised me a bit, but I'm thinking seeing her big adored sister be so sad had a lot to do with it!
Sweet daughters ~ I love you!

(By now, all kittens have found new homes)

Almost missed it!

2008-08-02T22:30:00.002-06:00

We had started our re-adoption paperwork a few weeks ago.
Basically, the re-adoption doesn't really change anything, but it allows Nina to have a Wyoming Birth certificate. This will make things much easier for her down the road, as I don't want to imagine having to request a BC from China in 20 years or so. Nightmare in the making....
Anyway, when we signed all the forms needed, the gal at the law office (who is a Tastefully Simple client of mine) told us she would send us the stamped and signed forms in the mail, and then they would notify us of our court date.
Well, about a week or so ago I received an envelope from the law office, and since I ASSUMED it was just our copies of the forms, I never opened it.
Yesterday at the fair I ran into her, and she told me that someone different from their office was going to represent us at the court hearing. I looked at her and said: "Oh, so you have found out about a court date then?". She gave me THE look and answered with a gasp: "Did you not receive our letter?" I confessed I had but had not opened it (yet).....
She said that the court date was INCLUDED in that envelope.
AAAHHHHHHGGGGGGHHHH!
The only senile question I had left for her was asking if we had missed it aleady....
She assured me we hadn't.

Guess what?

It's on TUESDAY morning. In THREE days, and we almost missed it.
THAT would have been embarrassing!

But thank God HE knew we needed a gentle little reminder, and yes, I will post pictures of the last official milestone in our journey to Miss Nina....

I saw her, I saw her!!!

2008-08-02T12:23:00.006-06:00

Okay, that was almost too ordinary.....

We attended the 4H sponsored pancake feed this morning, as they were setting up for Jesse James' stage nearby. I saw a dark haired lady walking around, and thought that it "may" just be Sandra. So I followed her (slick, huh!!).

It wasn't her.

But I ended up speaking with another bystander, and when I asked her if Sandra was here, too, she pointed to the playground and said calmly: "She is over there."

OVER THERE??? Are you KIDDING??

Armed with my best mothering skills, leaving my kids on their own, finishing their breakfast, I trotted over to the playground. Except, what do you really do at a playground if you don't have kids with you??

Yep, there she was.

Beautiful, but oh, so ordinary. Shorts, T-Shirt, no makeup, hair in a ponytail. Playing with her step-daughter. Doing what all Moms do.

Later on, she watched the local kids showing pigs. No one bothered her. Ordinary Wyoming people were sitting right by her, and acted as there was nothing special about her. I like that about the people here. Sure, we stare, we whisper, but we're very much leaving her alone. My friend got an autograph, but I was too chicken to approach her. Oh, well!

I witnessed a pretty cool exchange though. The local county Miss approached her (her Mom did) and asked for a picture. You know what she said?

"I don't take pictures today. Today it's all about my husband, and I'm just here as his wife. That's it."

Cool!

Well, I did take some pictures with my super zoom lens *haha*. I admit, they are
horrible pictures. But that's as courageous I got....

GUESS WHO IS IN TOWN!!!!!

2008-08-01T21:26:00.002-06:00

You're never gonna guess!!!!

It's Fair time, and this year they really scored with a celebrity...
Well, it's actually her hubby who is the hired one, but I had no idea who he was (after all, did he not get shot a long time ago???)
Allright, I know you won't guess it....
SANDRA BULLOCK!!!!!!!
There have been several sightings of her yesterday and today, in very fancy and world famous places like Applebee's, Albertson's and Wal Mart (Do you think she EVER shops at WalMart???)

I'm so excited..... I really want to see her!!!!
Trust me, I will be toting my camera around tomorrow!!!!!
Gosh, I'm so glad I moved to Wyoming!!

Summer vacation!

2008-07-26T16:29:00.007-06:00

Here is my first ever video - it took me quite a while to get it done (haven't done much of anything else while at it, either *ha*), and I know it will be such a fun memory for all of us!
Enjoy!
Now, of course I did not include all the unpleasant details, like Anya eating too many Smores (they did not look pretty a few hours later), or me wiping out on the forest floor when I tripped over a tent string (I'm still sore!). We've learned many valuable tent-camping lessons (we're pretty new at this!), and we're looking forward to next time!

(Wow, Youtube really downgraded the quality of it, but oh well!)

Beautiful...

2008-07-24T21:46:00.001-06:00

From tonight

What keeps kids entertained in the backseat

2008-07-24T20:38:00.003-06:00

While I'm working on my first ever little movie thing with our vacation pictures, I just have to show you this.

The kids' favorite entertainment in the car was taking pictures of other cars driving by.

Yes, you can laugh.

It was comical to listen to them. Elia was usually on the lookout for more cars. He would announce them loudly, and then Anya would take the picture, and they'd all cheer.

Repeat.

Needless to say, Anya had a BUNCH of blurry car pictures on her camera, and we think it's hilarious....

We're home, and a couple of changes to the blog

2008-07-23T22:18:00.005-06:00

Not like I have totes and sleeping bags and coolers to put away, or do 2 more loads of laundry.....

NO!!

My first project is messing around with the blog. Go figure this blogger's priorities *LOL*

I just added the "Wyoming summer" pictures on the left hand side (almost at the bottom, just in case you have not noticed that section before).

But what I have been wanting to do for a while is highlight all the milestones in our adoption journey. Those are like the "pearls" of adoption that are mixed into a lot of family "stuff". To ME those are super important, but if someone wants to come here and read up on adoption, it's more relevant to find those milestones quickly.

YES, we have been on vacation, and trust me, I have lots of pictures and stories to share.
This was our first TENT CAMPING trip (we have camped before, but chose the little "kamping kabins" while the kids were smaller).
Gosh, we had fun!!
But more on that tomorrow.
And on the not-so-fun episodes too (I'm still sore!!!).
Well, I guess I can't leave without at least one picture, right??This was taken by my very talented young photographer Anya!!

The Singer

2008-07-19T00:00:00.002-06:00

Nico participated in a choir camp for the last couple of weeks. He is always singing, so we thought he might enjoy that. And he did, for the most part (not enough boys there for his liking!)

We let him ride his bike to the camp at the High School and back, and he really enjoyed that. He did a great job getting ready in the morning, making sure he had enough time to get there and lock up his bike. This is the first time I've let him do that, and I think he will be ready to ride his bike to school if he wants to. It's only about 1 mile to the High school (but then I'm a horrible guesser), and about another 7 blocks to his Elementary school.

They had a concert today, and it was very nice. I really liked the songs they learned (all Broadway songs), and it looked like they had fun. Performing is NOT Nico's favorite thing (too much like his Mama, introverted and all), so this was quite a stretch, and I'm very proud of him!

I took these pictures with my new camera (duh :-) ), and the amazing thing is that I did not use a flash! I also took all of them from my seat in a good sized auditorium, so the zoom on the camera is awesome! About half the pictures ended up blurry, but I was still pretty impressed how well the others turned out!

Determination, and the power of LOVE...

2008-07-18T00:00:00.001-06:00

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?' The father who, despite having a heart condition, said 'Yes'.
They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.
One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.' To which his father said 'Yes' to.
For those who didn't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island.
Father and son went on to complete the race together.
View this...

For more information, go to the "Team Hoyt" website. Read the "Who we are" section to get their entire story!

Out of the mouth of babes...

2008-07-17T09:13:00.006-06:00

They crack me up!

Today is a nice and warm, and very pleasant morning. Perfect for a little bit of gardening before breakfast.
While I'm digging up an unwanted groundcover I had planted last year (and didn't like, obviously), Alex and Elia are sitting on the rocks, talking to me.

With all the elections going on, this is a topic we cover frequently, as their Grandpa is running for a seat in a County government position.

So here we are, digging in the dirt, when the discussion goes like this:

Alex: "Mama, who do you think is going to win?" (the election, that is)

Elia: "Grandpa, of course"

Then they are silent for a few moments.

Alex: "But I don't think Grandpa can run very fast..."

Also ihr Schweizer, ihr seid doch "Jammeri's" :-)))

2008-07-16T08:18:00.006-06:00

Hier ist das Rezept auf Deutsch, extra fuer euch uebersetzt und gewogen!!!!

8 Aprikosen (450 gr), in kleine Stuecke geschnitten
60 gr Zucker
2 Tassen (a 250ml) entsteinte Kirschen, ca 225 gr.
1 Essloeffel Mehl
(es darf bei bei beiden Fruchtsorten auch etwas mehr sein, ich habe gerade drei Portionen eingefroren, und "e Hampfle" dazugegeben)

140 gr Mehl
85 gr. Maisgriess
Echli Salz
1 1/2 Essloeffel Zucker
abgeriebene Schale von 1/2 Orange
2 Teeloeffel Backpulver (8 gr)
70 gr kalte Butter
187 ml Milch (Haha, moechtet ihr's noch ein bisschen genauer??)

Aprikosen und Zucker vermischen
Kirschen und Mehl vermischen (nur mit dem 1 EL Mehl!)
beiseite stellen

Alle "trockenen" Zutaten vermischen (inkl. Orangenschale), dann Butter in Stuecke schneiden und beifuegen, verreiben. Milch einruehren.

Fruechte in eine Auflaufform geben, Teigmasse darueber verteilen, bei 180 Grad backen (25 - 30 minuten)

Mit Puderzucker bestaeuben. Warm servieren.
Schmeckt sehr gut mit Vanilleglace!

YUMM!!!

2008-07-15T21:19:00.006-06:00

I was able to purchase Cherries and Apricots from Colorado (by the case - I look forward to this every year!)
On my quest to find great apricot recipes, I came across this cobbler, and made it this afternoon.
It was to die for!!!!
So, so good!
I thought I'd share, in case you need a great summer dessert recipe. I doubled it, fed 4 adults and 5 kids, and had about 1/4 of the pan left over.
Here you go:
(My comments are in red)

Apricot Cherry Cobbler
8 fresh apricots (1 LB), sliced
1/3 cup sugar
2 cups pitted fresh cherries (1/2 LB)
1 tbsp flour
(you can easily use more fruit)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/4 tsp salt
1-1/2 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp grated orange peel
5 tbsp unsalted butter, chilled
3/4 cup low-fat milk

Heat oven to 375°F.

Combine apricots and 1/3 cup sugar; set aside.
Combine cherries and 1 tbsp flour; set aside.
Combine dry ingredients; reserve 1 tsp sugar.
Stir in orange peel
Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal.
Add milk; stir just to moisten dry ingredients.
Combine fruit in buttered 1-1/2-quart baking dish; spoon batter over top.
Sprinkle with remaining sugar. (I omitted this step, and dusted the cobbler with powdered sugar before serving instead. Makes it look very pretty!)
Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool slightly and serve.Makes 8 servings (For the double batch, I ended up baking it for 45 minutes)
Nutrition information per serving: 255 calories, 4 g protein, 42 g carbohydrates, 205 mg sodium, 9 g fat, 21 mg cholesterol, 3 g dietary fiber, 1190 IU vitamin A, 309 mg potassium.

You asked for the close-ups :-)

2008-07-12T14:05:00.002-06:00

And here are a few - well, I had three, so I added a cute picture of Nina to the collage!
I got my new camera yesterday, and there is so much I need to learn, and a lot of the technical stuff sounds chinese to me. Love the "Auto" function, where is does all the thinking for me, while I learn more about the details!

Will you be my prince of peace...?

2008-07-11T20:37:00.002-06:00

I love that song.
Makes me want to cry every time it plays on the radio.
I really, really need that peace...

My new toy, a "superkitten", post placement and more from the orthodontist front

2008-07-06T15:42:00.007-06:00

I'm so excited - I ordered myself a new digital camera last week! My little point-and-shoot camera died several weeks ago when a boy who shall remain name-less kept messing with the shutter, and managed to ruin the same part.

I have been using Anya's camera for quite some time now, and although she has been very gracious about it, it annoys her. It's hers, and she got it as a gift from her aunt Kami.

I understand. I so understand!

Thank goodness, the awesome direct-sales company that I'm a consultant for (and have been for four years) has a cool reward points program, and since I have been saving my points for a long time, I'm now able to "buy" a pretty nice camera for FREE! Wohoo! I'm sure it will be a learning curve, but I'm excited about this new photographic adventure!!
This camera is said to have a huge zoom lens on it, and I'm looking forward to playing with that. I LOVE close-ups! Someday I would like to get a VERY nice camera, but that's just not a priority right now. I just gave myself an early Christmas present. Gotta do that every so often :-))
As far as the direct sales company goes, you are more than welcome to take a peek here. I'll be happy to give you the link to my personal website, but I can't do it on a public blog (company policy AND my personal privacy concerns). Email me if you would like me to send it to you!

********************

On a happy and sad note - Gandalf the gray left us today and joined her new family. They are good friends of ours, and we're all happy that we will be able to see this cute little furball in the future. Her new name will be "Ophelia" (their kids came up with that one :-) )
One of Gandalf/Ophelia's sisters however had some "superkitten" ideas today, although I really don't think it was intentional that she hurled herself off our 10 foot plant shelf. I heard a big "thud", and the only thing out of place was a dizzy little kitten. I guess "Rocket" was the right name for her after all. So far so good - she seems to be okay, and we are sure happy about this!

********************

We had our last post-placement visit yesterday! I really, really like our social worker, and she has always been very encouraging and understanding. All we have left now, as far as formalities go, is the re-adoption procedure. We have the paperwork filed, and will have it all completed in hopefully a few weeks.

**********************

Anya started her orthodontic journey earlier this year (poor girl has NO room for her lower teeth), and was recently fitted with a bottom retainer to keep things from getting worse, until she has more of her permanent teeth. She will have braces after that. We assumed we would get a break for a while.

NOT.

I took Alex for his cleaning last week, and he had his first set of XRays taken. He also JUST lost his first 2 teeth within the last couple of weeks. He thinks he is pretty big now. Well, his XRays revealed that he has 2 permanent top teeth MISSING! Ughhh! Does this poor kid EVER get a break???? He has the 2 front teeth, but then the 2 right next to it are simply not there! Needless to say, they strongly recommend to see the orthodontist right away, so they can develop a treatment plan before he actually loses the affected baby teeth. He is quite excited about seeing the orthodontist, as he has heard all the cool stories from his siblings, and can't wait to try out all the video games at their office himself!! Gotta love the perspective of a 7 year old!!

Kit Kittredge

2008-07-06T15:36:00.004-06:00

"The girls" in their matching shirts :-)

Anya has been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the American Girl "Kit" movie. This afternoon, Grandma is taking her to FINALLY see it! Can't wait to hear all about it!

Backwards-ys...

2008-07-05T20:49:00.002-06:00

Nina is so funny.

She has a few words that she always says backwards, and of course her siblings get the biggest kick out of it.

Her best ones are

Wash-car

(she was so excited to go to the wash-car with Daddy today!)

Shake-milk

(does not appreciate it if I put peaches in it!!! She really does not want her shake-milk when that's the case :-) )

Happy 4th of July!

2008-07-04T13:16:00.008-06:00

...from Wyoming to the rest of the (Bloggin') world....

On top of Grandpa's float... Nina did some serious flag waving during the entire parade!

My patriotic gang!

Sisterly 4th of July beauty shop :-)Getting ready to shoot off some poppers, glow worms, and sparklers.

One year reflections

2008-07-03T08:18:00.009-06:00

One year ago, two red thumbprints and a read handprint sealed Nina's adoption. We were going to be bound to each other forever. There was so much anticipation, so much love, and the willingness to commit to this little stranger that we had just met, but that had totally won us over in less than 24 hours.

Now, after a year has passed, she is definitely part of our family. I would like to share some of my thoughts and my heart here, because that's what I have promised myself to do, and not to leave out some of the tough stuff.

The first few weeks at home were very draining, you may remember some of my posts about that time. Our older kids crashed after the "anticipation high", and everyone scrambled to find their new spot, and to fit Nina into the picture. They all reacted in different ways, but eventually came out of that adjustment fog. For some it took longer, but I'm so thankful to say that I truly believe they have found their inner balance again.

Nina adjusted easily, it seemed. This still really amazes me, given the huge change this was in her life, and how she just kind of went with the flow, loving all those new experiences.

For me, it was such a blessing to have Big'e Anja (I don't know if we'll ever stop calling her that *LOL*) here, just to have that extra set of hands and her friendship.... (we love you, girl!).

The second half of our first year together has been more difficult in many ways, as well as easier in others. The biggest obstacle I think I have found is myself. My bonding process to my little girl is still ongoing, and I struggle with that. I had this image of myself being the oh-so-loving super-adoptive-Mom, and trust me, I'm not. Yes, I do love Nina, absolutely, and I'm so glad she is here, but there is still a good portion of that based on commitment, and of doing the right thing. We have beautiful moments of a deepening emotional connection, but there is still room to grow. I think this is definitely the challenge in adopting a preschooler - you meet them at a point in their lives when you typically deal with some really annoying age-related behaviors (whining, defiance and temper-tantrums...) without having had the benefits of the "cute and cuddly" kind of baby phase. I find that I don't have much tolerance for those behaviors, and they annoy me more than I'd like to admit. I seriously don't know how God puts up with all his adopted children, because he NEVER gets us at the "cute-and-cuddly" stage - EVER!! Yet his love is so complete and so selfless and shining so brightly and I marvel at that. I know that the more I dwell in HIS presence, the more I will have the strength to be the Mom he wants me to be. I have been lacking greatly in this area. The devil has been very successful in whispering all kinds of lies to my heart. And I know the Lord is just waiting for me to realize that I can't do it with my own strength. I have done a good job trying, and I just does not work!!

A few days ago I watched a photoshow that Julie, the Love without Boundaries foster care coordinator for the City of Loudi, had put together. She visited Loudi in the spring, and seeing the pictures of the places Nina had lived in for so long, was very emotional. I was able to send some pictures of Nina with Julie, and in one of Julie's photos it shows the orphanage staff looking at Nina's pictures. Talk about a Mama being a total mess!! It's so easy to forget how very different her life had been until a year ago.

I really believe that she loves being here. For the most part, anyway :-).
She still LOVES to color, but boy is she a perfectionist! She can have a complete meltdown over a little rip in a piece of paper, or a unwanted scribble on her picture. She is very impatient with herself, and if she doesn't succeed right away, she'll throw a fit and completely destroy the object of her desire. She does a great job playing games and taking turns, and she really likes to help, and I can always count on her doing little chores if I ask her to.

She is very much a girly-girl, and loves anything pretty :-). We're thinking about putting her in ballet lessons in the fall - I think she may enjoy it better than soccer!

We have some mealtime struggles that we are trying to work through (control/power issues), but she continues to like pretty much all foods! We will be going to our favorite chinese restaurant tonight to celebrate her adoption day!

I just found out that she will have a spot in a preschool class in the fall, and I'm very happy about that. It will be at our local center for early intervention, and although she does not need any early intervention services, she will benefit from that environment and the knowledge of the staff there (plus they have THE KILLER playground!!!!!). They were such a lifesaver for me when Alex went through their early intervention program, and I'm looking forward to going back there with Nina. She is very, very excited about going!

She is very torn between wanting to be little, and stay little, and wanting to be big like Anya or Mama. I assure her all the time that she can stay little as long as she wants to, and that seems very comforting to her, but that someday she will want to be big.

Really, over all she is doing wonderfully, and maybe I just need someone to smack me over the head and tell me to get my big girl panties on (Mike thinks I'm way too hard on myself :-) ).I do much better when I focus on the blessings than on the difficult moments, and I DO believe that things will continue to improve. I mean, they are not bad AT ALL, and I feel kind of silly putting it that way, but hey, there you have your honest one year assessment :-))

Updated measurements as of 7/8: Weight: 32 pounds (14.5kg); Height: 40 inches (101.6cm). She has grown 1 1/4 inch in 6 months, and gained 1 pound.

I just love the support of all you blog readers, and you guys mean so much to me. Thanks for letting me share my heart, and not judging me for it (if you do, don't tell me *ha*). Thanks for rejoicing with us, and praying with us, and being on this journey with us.....

One year ago.....

2008-07-02T20:47:00.004-06:00

One year ago we met a little girl whom we had only known from a picture.

A little girl who needed a Mama and a Daddy just as much as they needed her.

Because the dream of her had been there for many, many years -

and the yearning of a mother's heart had steadily drawn her closer.

Because the fire of compassion of the Allmighty had sparked the same in a Father's heart -

and he allowed that fire to carry him to the other side of the world.

The new beginning was also an end.

The joy tightly interwoven with sadness.

The certainty of a new family laced with the uncertainty about her new life.

She did not want to let them in.

Just a little - maybe.

The tears of saying goodbye still stung in her eyes.

But she took the chance, and opened up to the life that had been placed in her little hands.

A different life.

Brothers.

A sister.

A place to belong. Forever.

And she made room in her heart, and started to love and to grow.

She was home.

"I gave you candy..."

2008-06-25T14:16:00.002-06:00

This week is CRAZY. It seems that the only one-on-one time I have with any of the kids is in the car, or while waiting for someone else's lesson of any kind to be over.
Nico and Anya have soccer camp, Elia and Nina swimming and gymnastics, and Alex German camp. I haveo have them all chauffeured to their respective activities by 9am (at three different locations!). Ahhhhhhhhhh!
I love that they have all these great opportunities, but this week is one compact entertainment marathon. Not to mention that I'm also providing authentic (aka: homemade from scratch) Swiss Snacks for the German camp, which has about 90 people. Late nights, early morning, and a kitchen that is too painful to describe.
Oh well!

There was one really neat thing that I need to write about before it fades in my memory...
Nina and I were sitting at swimming, watching Elia, and visiting with my friend and neighbor. We talked about having to do something special for Nina's adoption anniversary next week. We talked about how we met her a year ago, and she looked at me and said: "And I gave you candy".

When we met her in Changsha, she tightly clutched a bag of hard candy in her little hands, and her nanny prompted her to give one to Mike and one to me. We still have a couple of pieces of that candy, and we have a picture of her giving it to us (I think), and we have it on video. Nina has only watched the video one time, last summer.

I was soooo surprised that she brought this up, and that she seemed to remember that moment.
Wow! Certainly makes me wonder what other memories she has from her adoption!!

Is this the direction we are headed????

2008-06-20T22:45:00.002-06:00

This article was on Foxnews.com today, and to me, this is deeply disturbing.
I have been on a "parenting kick" lately, reading some new parenting books in the hopes of getting some insight on certain behaviors we see popping up in our kids. Not the pleasant kind.
Reading stuff like this article though makes me sad, angry, and worried about our kids' future as parents themselves (God help them!)
****************
OTTAWA (AFP) - A Canadian court has lifted a 12-year-old girl's grounding, overturning her father's punishment for disobeying his orders to stay off the Internet, his lawyer said Wednesday.
The girl had taken her father to Quebec Superior Court after he refused to allow her to go on a school trip for chatting on websites he tried to block, and then posting "inappropriate" pictures of herself online using a friend's computer.
The father's lawyer Kim Beaudoin said the disciplinary measures were for the girl's "own protection" and is appealing the ruling.
"She's a child," Beaudoin told AFP. "At her age, children test their limits and it's up to their parents to set boundaries."
"I started an appeal of the decision today to reestablish parental authority, and to ensure that this case doesn't set a precedent," she said. Otherwise, said Beaudoin, "parents are going to be walking on egg shells from now on."
"I think most children respect their parents and would never go so far as to take them to court, but it's clear that some would and we have to ask ourselves how far this will go."
According to court documents, the girl's Internet transgression was just the latest in a string of broken house rules. Even so, Justice Suzanne Tessier found her punishment too severe.
Beaudoin noted the girl used a court-appointed lawyer in her parents' 10-year custody dispute to launch her landmark case against dear old dad.

Going to work with Daddy

2008-06-20T08:11:00.001-06:00

Nina got up bright and early this morning, and since we don't have gymnastics today, we can do whatever we want *Ahhhhhhhhh*
She asked if she could go to work with Daddy, and given the day of the week it is, and the good sport Daddy is, he said yes. She was so excited, and got cleaned up and dressed in a hurry. She had this shy, but proud little grin on her face pretty much the entire time.
Mike will let her stay for a couple of hours, and then I will go pick her up and bring her home again!

Summer swimming....

2008-06-16T12:15:00.003-06:00

Alex and Anya are taking swimming lessons this summer, as they were unable to do so during the school year (only so much this Mama can do).
Anya just caught on to some of the basics this past year, and now she is really enjoying to learn more and to get better at it. She just advanced to Level 4, and she is very proud of her progress.
For Alex, swimming is a challenge: He is quite afraid of the water, hates being splashed, and his delayed motor skills and lacking coordination make swimming a monumental task. I also knew if anyone could teach him how to swim, it would be this particular instructor (she is phenomenal!). Denise has been very patient with him, and he is making progress as well. The best thing is - he's ENJOYING it!! And it's not just the swimming that is a great learning opportunity, it's also all the locker room tasks, and I'm helping him to become a lot more independent with the self-care that's needed before and after swimming. It really is a win-win situation!
Here are a couple of pictures of the two swimmers (yes, I'm on a roll today :-) )

....and Summer Gymnastics

2008-06-16T10:01:00.004-06:00

We are starting our third week of summer gymnastics. Our High School has a fun, recreational program every summer (and it's FREE!), and all our kids have participated at one point. Nina and Elia really like it. Elia loves the physical activity, and Nina really likes her leotards :-)). We received some cute hand-me-downs, and she is in princess heaven. She participates well, follows directions, and I think this is really good for her gross motor development.

It' hard some mornings to get out of the house, as their lesson starts at 8:30am, but it also forces me to have my act together *ha*.

I finally remembered to bring my camera today, too :-))

Elia's doghouse project

2008-06-15T20:07:00.001-06:00

Tonight, after eating dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house, Elia decided he wanted to build a doghouse for them. He really, really wants a dog, so he thought that if THEY got one, he would not have to clean up dog poop! Pretty clever :-))
He found lots of scrap wood in their backyard, as they are in the process of building a garden shed, and Grandpa supplied the screws and the cordless drill! My little boy was in heaven!!!
Soon the project turned into a family affair, with all the siblings giving suggestions and wanting a turn with the power tool. It was so sweet all of them working together.
Elia had very clear ideas on how it needed to be built, and not even Daddy was able to sway him. He got it about half way done, and while it will have to be a very little dog, I'm impressed with his ability to think about a project, and then work on it.
I'm sure he will want to go finish it later this week!

Fathers in our lives

2008-06-15T15:14:00.000-06:00

Father's Day 2008

I truly cannot begin to describe how blessed our kiddos are to have their Daddy. He is one of the kindest, most encouraging, and good-natured men I have ever met (gosh, I just HAD to marry that guy!). He is involved in their lives, he provides for them, he prays for them, and he teaches them to be godly young people. In return, they lay at his feet. Their love for him comes from deep within, and their bond is strong. They love to have pillow fights and tickle wars, play tag and football and soccer, and they share his love for anything electronic.

He was there.....
....when Anya was crushed that big brother Nico was leaving for his first day of school...

...for Nico and his neverending thirst for knowledge...

....to teach Alex how to play miniature golf, even when it required a lot of patience....

...when Elia could not go fast enough on uncle Larry's four wheeler...

...or when he needed someone to sit with him in ICU after his fall off the top bench of the bleachers which resulted in a skull fracture (one of the scariest moments of my life)....

...or when Nina first discovered what a "Daddy" was....
...or when she just needed a snuggle 10 months later....
But there are other Fathers in our lives as well ~
Grandpa
who always encourages the kids to try hard, and who lets them do things that make them feel so grown up and important, like running power tools and heavy machinery, and who ALWAYS has gum in his pocket!

Grosvati
(my Dad)
who always returns home from here, leaving a legacy of a special project well done, like this awesome organizer for our mud room. He enjoyed helping Nico work on his own wood working project while he worked in the shop.

This is a picture of both of my parents on their 50th wedding anniversary (3 years ago). My niece Dina is wearing my Mom's wedding dress.

And yet another special Father, the kids' very special
Great-Grandpa
who was a man of honor, of bravery, and a Cowboy through and through.
He loved our kids so much, called them his little critters, and I know beyond a shadow of a doubt, he would have loved Nina too.

We miss you!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-14T22:23:00.002-06:00

In 1989 an 8.2 earthquake almost flattened Armenia, killing over 30,000 people in less than four minutes.

In the midst of utter devastation and chaos, a father left his wife securely at home and rushed to the school where his son was supposed to be, only to discover that the building was as flat as a pancake.

After the traumatic initial shock, he remembered the promise he had made to his son: "No matter what, I'll always be there for you!" And tears began to fill his eyes. As he looked at the pile of debris that once was the school, it looked hopeless, but he kept remembering his commitment to his son.

He began to concentrate on where he walked his son to class at school each morning. Remembering his son's classroom would be in the back right corner of the building, he rushed there and started digging through the rubble.

As he was digging, other forlorn parents arrived, clutching their hearts, saying: "My son!" "My daughter!" Other well meaning parents tried to pull him off of what was left of the school saying:

"It's too late!"
"They're dead!"
"You can't help!"
"Go home!"
"Come on, face reality, there's nothing you can do!"
"You're just going to make things worse!"

To each parent he responded with one line: "Are you going to help me now?" And then he proceeded to dig for his son, stone by stone.

The fire chief showed up and tried to pull him off of the school's debris, saying, "Fires are breaking out, explosions are happening everywhere. You're in danger. We'll take care of it. Go home." To which this loving, caring Armenian father asked, "Are you going to help me now?"

The police came and said, "You're angry, distraught and it's over. You're endangering others. Go home. We'll handle it!" To which he replied, "Are you going to help me now?" No one helped.

Courageously he proceeded alone because he needed to know for himself: "Is my boy alive or is he dead?"

He dug for eight hours . . . 12 hours . . . 24 hours ... 36 hours . . . then, in the 38th hour, he pulled back a boulder and heard his son's voice. He screamed his son's name, "ARMAND!" He heard back, "Dad!?! It's me, Dad! I told the other kids not to worry. I told 'em that if you were alive, you'd save me and when you saved me, they'd be saved. You promised, 'No matter what, I'll always be there for you!' You did it, Dad! . . . "

"What's going on in there? How is it?" the father asked.

There are 14 of us left out of 33, Dad. We're scared, hungry, thirsty and thankful you're here. When the building collapsed, it made a wedge, like a triangle, and it saved us."

"Come on out, boy!"

"No, Dad! Let the other kids out first, 'cause I know you'll get me! No matter what, I know you'll be there for me!"

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
-Deuteronomy 31:5

From: Chicken Soup For The Soul

Spooky, Gandalf, Rocket and Indy

2008-06-10T20:50:00.001-06:00

When it comes to co-raising a litter of kittens, naming them sure is the fun part.

Especially when they are ALL BLACK!!

Needless to say, it took almost 5 weeks until we had a name for all of them.

Especially a name that works for either gender, as we still don't know which ones are boys and which ones are girls. Good thing human babies are easier in that aspect :-)). We "think" there is one boy, but seriously, their little parts look pretty much the same to us.

Sorry, this may be too much information *LOL*

Anyway - back to the naming process:

Gandalf was first - we could tell that this kitty had the most white "fuzz" on the front legs, and since the older kids had just watched "The Lord of the Rings", we named this one "Gandalf the gray". Gandalf is a little bit a loner, often times hanging out by himself, and he is the only one who is not eating solid food yet, and therefore worrying his human "Grandma". And we THINK that Gandalf is actually a girl :-).

Next came "All-black" - see how desperate we were, but this one is the only one who does NOT have any white hair on the legs. "All-Black" was only a temporary name, and Nico finally named it "Indy" (take a guess which new movie he likes!!).

The two other ones were so identical, that it took us the longest to tell them apart. But Elia names his "Rocket" (just like uncle Ronnie's horse that died!), and Rocket has just a few little white specks of hair on top of his ears.

Anya finally decided on a name, and Spooky has some white hair coming out of her ears. So, they are all named and happy little campers.

We finally moved them into the garage, much to the dismay of the Mama cat, who tries to sneak them back into the house.

Wow, baby kittens are so fun, and great entertainment! The picture posted is not a very recent one, but it's so hard to catch them for a picture. They either constantly move, or if we have one outside, it starts crying, and Midnight the Mama comes flying, and drags it back inside right away. So bear with me, I promise there will be more pictures.

What I realized too, and I find it intriguing, is how the little personalities match the child who named it -

Gandalf, the loner, who is doing things later than anyone else, and in his own way - just like Alex

Indy, the frontrunner, with a bit of kitten-firstborn syndrome, just like Nico

Rocket, always active and feisty, just like Elia

Spooky, cute and snuggly, just like the girls (Nina didn't name one, but she decided that Spooky was her favorite, too)

Now we just need to find homes - 2 are spoken for so far. It is going to be a sad, sad day when those little critters have to leave. Makes me all teary too :-))

What amazes me is how Midnight just knows what to do, without reading parenting books or taking classes. Pretty cool!

Red Light, Green light

2008-06-04T18:38:00.006-06:00

We've been playing "Red Light, Green Light" lately. Actually, it was last weekend when it suddenly became hugely popular at our house. The little boys taught Nina how to play it, and it was so funny - every time it was "red light", she assumed the cutest "freeze" position. I have no idea where she picked that up, I'm guessing it was at soccer (need to talk to the coach *ha*)

Back up again, and Tornado picture

2008-06-04T18:17:00.006-06:00

***Disclaimer*** the picture below was printed in our local newspaper. I was NOT the photographer :-). What we saw was just a little part of a tornado at that time.

We're back in the virtual world!!

I don't function well without internet, I have to admit!

I use it so much, either just for fun, for information, or for business.

I'm much happier now *LOL*

Here is a picture of the recent tornado that hit our town! Pretty impressive, huh! We actually saw it from our house (or at least one of them in the area!)

A funny detail about this picture....Nina was just looking at it, and she exclaimed: "Mama, look, the tomato!"

Internet down...

2008-06-03T13:49:00.005-06:00

I thought I was doing really good catching up. But sure enough, our internet went down (something with the wireless "stuff"), and I thought it was because of the severe weather we've been having over the weekend, but I guess it wasn't. They'll come tomorrow to replace the magical box.

We've had terrible thunderstorms, tornadoes (very little damage from what I've heard), hail - you name it - but hey, no SNOW anymore, and that I'm happy about! We spent about an hour in the basement yesterday afternoon, and Anya was so cute - she made sure everyone had their shoes, she brought a couple of games downstairs, and entertained the little ones. She is getting so grown up!

After the storm let up, we made some "Dandelion curls" - if you're looking for free and natural entertainment, find some dandelions, break the stems into pieces (2 - 3 inches long), and then fray the stems from both sides. Then put them in a bowl of water, and they will curl up into the funniest looking little creations. We made those all the time when I was little, and obviously today's kids still like them too.

I took some pictures of it too (of course!!)
If you click on the collage, you get a better look at the "curls" - Nina preferred decorating the bowl with flowers, though, and it looked so beautiful!!

Signing off for today (I hacked into my sister-in-laws network :-) )

Oh, and by the way, Elia's word was WHEEL!!! Good job, Brandee!! Good guesses, everyone else, and thanks for playing!

The baking boy

2008-06-01T16:44:00.005-06:00

One of Nico's goals for his "home schooling year" was to learn to cook and to bake. Sadly enough, we didn't have nearly as much time for it as I was hoping for, but he still learned a few things. The most impressive one is how to braid "Zopf", a traditional Swiss Sunday bread. He does a good job, and he is so proud when we eat "his" bread!

And yes, he DID get a haircut since this picture, and while his hair is still long, it doesn't look quite so unruly anymore :-)

The writing boy

2008-06-01T16:23:00.005-06:00

Elia has been amazing us with his early reading and writing skills. He has been practicing with Alex's books from Kindergarten, and has the very early ones mastered. The ones that go like:

"I see the dog, I see the cat..."

"I can eat, I can sleep..."

The last word is usually a picture, but still - it's so fun to see him discover the world of reading and books! Love it!

And now he is trying to write things, too. He'll just go get paper and a pencil to write things down. Sometimes it's when he is mad and wants to write about it, or it is to write a card, or just to pass the time in church :-)

I took pictures of a couple of examples of his writing. I usually have to ask him for the translation, but once I know what he meant, it becomes quite obvious. He is really trying to sound out the words, and the results are so cute!

This one was created after I had to lock up the Wii games because of lots of fighting and no sharing. He was so angry with me, and taped this note to the inside of our entertainment center :-)

It says: "No fighting over the (and then 'over the' again) Wii game (gem)

His letters are highlighted in red

(And of course MOM is obvious, since I was the one he was mad at)

And here is Grandma's Birthday card!

"Happy Birthday Grandma (Grmo)"

And so see who is still reading our blog, here is a little "Elia-Trivia". Can you guess what this word means? He just wrote it a couple of days ago, and neither Mike or I could figure it out. Again, it makes total sense now, so let me hear YOUR best guesses :-)))

"WEOWL"

Post your guess in the comments!

Growing so much!

2008-06-01T14:16:00.000-06:00

Before Nina came home last summer, I bought her and Anya a matching dress.

She wore it once.

On her first day home.

After that, it disappeared, and I could not find it for the life of me! I was puzzled - and sad, as it represented something special - a new beginning, a day when we were finally all together.

Well, it turned up during the winter - it was at the bottom of a large "to iron" pile, that gets neglected at my house more often than not.

I took some pictures of Nina wearing it, just to see the difference 10 months had made.

Look for yourself!

July 15, 2007. Our first breakfast at home!

And this is how long this dress used to be!

As I'm labeling this, I'm amazed. This picture was taken on May 15, 2008, exactly 10 months after the first ones!! Look how much shorter her dress is now! And she doesn't have the unsure and scared look on her face anymore, either, but a happy and confident one!

She is so beautiful, and I love how long her hair is getting!

Allright, let me burst your bubble. Here is what she was REALLY thinking about this photo shoot :-))

Yes, that's definitely my girl, too!

"Lamest Blogger" award....

2008-05-30T22:39:00.002-06:00

Well, if there is such a thing, I know I have EARNED that one!!
I'm really sorry about my lame blogging habits lately.
I will try to do some catching up over the weekend.
It's not like I don't have some cute pictures to show you, and it's not like our kittens are absolutely ADORABLE and funny.....
Please forgive me....

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T20:01:00.002-06:00

When you give a girl a birthday party....

2008-05-04T13:58:00.000-06:00

....she'll ask you to have a sleepover. She'll invite her three best friends Katie, Alexis, and Maria.

She'll have to go pick up Katie with her Daddy, and while Maria and Alexis are already at her house waiting, and baking her a birthday cake, she'll almost forget that she needed to be home sooner.

They will finally be united, and ask you to play dress-up. After having dress-up clothes all over her room, they want to make a craft. The birthday girl will have prepared for that, having put together a kit for all her friends beforehand.

Once craft supplies just about cover up the dress-up clothes , they'll ask you to paint their fingernails. You'll refuse, until things are picked up again.

Instead of picking up, they'll chase the boys around the house and beat up the birthday girl's big brother. Running around in their lady- and princess garb reminds them of the playground. They'll want to go outside and play. You'll be thankful for that idea! They'll swing on the swings, play in the sandbox, and play chinese jump rope. They'll get all wet and muddy, and need to come shed their wet socks in the house.

This will remind them of all the things they left unfinished. They'll come back inside.

Coming inside will remind them of how hungry they are. They'll ask you to make dessert pizza for dinner. You'll agree, but you'll make a garlic and chicken pizza to be eaten first. You'll have dinner with 8 kids at the table, and you'll wonder how families with 8 kids do it. They'll love the garlic and chicken pizza, but DEVOUR the dessert pizza.

When their bellies are full, the birthday girl will remember that she has presents to open. She'll open them swiftly.

Opening presents will remind her of a game they could play. They disappear in her room. But since there is no room to play, they'll just talk. Just sitting around will remind them of the birthday cake. They'll ask you to light the candles. You'll let the birthday girl do it. You'll remind them to brush teeth and put on pajamas.

Putting on pajamas will remind them of their plans of soaking their feet and putting on nail polish. They'll ask you permission to do that. You'll decline - again - as it is too late now. The birthday girl will throw a fit and accuse you of all kinds of things that better not be repeated, and you'll try to reason with her. Then you'll ignore her and send her to bed.

Going to bed will remind them that they all want to sleep on a queen sized air mattress. You'll insist on at least 2 of them sleeping in the beds. They'll cuddle anyway once you'll leave the room. Going to bed will also remind them of saying their prayers, and you'll be so thankful for friends that love Jesus, too.

They'll find LOTS of things to talk about yet, and you'll have to remind them several times that it's time to sleep now. Once they are quiet, you'll sink into a chair and breathe a sigh of relief. You'll enjoy the quiet house, and you'll thank the Lord for the gift of children. Sleeping children, at this point.

There'll be a quiet night, at least for a few hours. At daybreak, however, the four princess arise and go soak their feet in the makeshift bathtub spa. They'll be all wet, not just their feet, and they'll ask you to let them dress up again. Actually, did they ask??? It'll all be a blur by then, and since dressing up is just fine with you, you'll let them. Being the 4 ladies again, they'll aks you to let them make pancakes for breakfast. You'll let them do that, too. You'll close your eyes and pretend not to see the trail of their labor of love. They'll make pancakes to their liking, with LOTS of chocolate chips in them. They'll devour those, too.

Eating breakfast will remind them that the party is almost over, and they'll pack up their things. They'll say goodbye, and saying goodbye will remind them of the reason for the party. And they'll leave, saying HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANYA!

Oh, the SLANG....

2008-04-30T09:10:00.002-06:00

I'm not sure if this is funny or embarrassing....

Nina has acquired quite an array of slang words, some acceptable, and some.... well... let's call them borderline :-))

A few days ago, she pranced around the bathroom, doing a lot of hippety-hop because she waits so long to go that it often time ends up being a major crisis. Well, she had to change her undies after this particular time, and I talked to her about not waiting so long and bla bla.... She looked at me and said: "It's okay, Mama, just relax!"

That's one of the acceptable and funny ones...

She has been experimenting quite a bit with the word 'stupid', but is getting better at chosing a different one :-) But hey, we can make sure Mama knows when anybody ELSE is using it!!

Just now she is busy playing with Play-doh, and after much grunting she got her favorite purple Playdoh out of the can. She started kneading it, then muttered: "This is hard - son of a gun!"

Oh, the advantages of having older siblings......

The Star Wars Creator.....

2008-04-29T07:07:00.006-06:00

I'm SO IN TROUBLE with my oldest....

I have promised him to blog about his Lego creations, and I STILL have not done it. He is getting really cranky with me!

So, Nico, I think you are doing a GREAT job building Legos!!

I love his creativity, and even though he has a LONG wish list with new sets, he ususally builds the sets he really wants with pieces he already has. And I think that is so cool!!

Here is one of his favorite Star Wars Lego movies!! Hmmmm, it's probably safe to say that about 100 views were him :-)) Or any of his brothers, for that matter!

If you think it's only the boys who LOVE Star Wars, guess again. The girls do too, and even Nina talks about all the different characters.

*Sigh*

I just can't do it.

I know it's a huge deal, but I tried to suffer through one of the movies, and after about 1/2 hour, I just had to give up on the idea of ever understanding what they are talking about pretty much nonstop.

I'm even as far as answering the request for watching a movie with "as long as it's not Star Wars, or Clone Wars - yes!"

Allright, sorry, Nico, I'm getting a bit off track and worked up, here :-)))

The Lego Set "Slave 1" (Bobafett's ship) had been the object of his desire for quite some time (like forever - or so it seemed to me :-) ). The only problem was, it was a set that just got retired. And since kids are just like us grown-ups, if something is out of reach, it becomes even more so a MUST-HAVE!

After much searching we found one on EBay that was actually not much more than the original price had been, and lo and behold, we won the Auction!

Nico had been earning stickers for doing his schoolwork promptly and with a good attitude (which was a desperate measure by his Lego-ed out teacher!!!), and you should have seen him work once he was close, and his new Lego set had been delivered! One night he literally worked until 7pm!!

These first pictures are the set that he designed. To me, that's nothing short of amazing! He really studied this ship, and re-created even the smallest details!

The the day had finally come when he could play with his new set. His very nice teacher even gave him the afternoon off!

His ship goes pretty much everywhere with him. It even watched the kittens being born the other night! I think it liked it :-))

Nico has really been an inspiration to his siblings - and he is always helping them build something, too! They are learning so much from him! Of course his little Shadow (aka Elia) thinks his brother is the coolest guy EVER!!!

I hope I'm redeemed now. I'll have to run this post by the Master later on, and make sure he approves!!

You're not going to believe this.....

2008-04-26T23:38:00.006-06:00

It's almost midnight, and Midnight, our black kitty, is GIVING BIRTH as we speak!! I didn't think she was 'due' for at least another week, but I guess cats are as unpredictable as women *ha*.
This is way too tense for me to watch, so I thought I'd update the blog instead. I'm a wuss, I know!
Three have been born so far, all of them are black. She is cleaning up the third one right now!
Nico woke up, and is watching her too! We decided to wake Anya as well, and she was out of bed in a split-second after she heard the news! We figured that this was a unique experience for both of them, as this will be Midnight's only litter!
Oh, yeah, and GUESS where she is having her kittens..... ON MY BED!!!!! (That was NOT my choice, but by the time we found her, it was too late)
Thank goodness for a waterproof mattress pad!!!!
More tomorrow, and pictures, too!
*****
It is morning now, and I moved the Mama kitty off my bed and into her post-partum suite...(aka a very, very old suitcase!) - she was not too impressed with that, but I would really like to sleep in my own CLEAN bed tonight :-) . Needless to say, my bedding is in the wash, and I'm running a SANITIZING cycle on it!
The four little ones are doing well, lots of baby-miaowing going on.
Here is a quick video clip of last night's happenings.
Trust me, there WILL be more pictures, but Mama Midnight is a little leery of all the commotion this morning, and I'm trying to keep the kids away, as she clearly doesn't appreciate their presence.

Afternoon update:
Midnight is a good little Kitty-Mama, and the kittens are doing great. She lets the kids watch her and pet her now, but prefers it quiet. She went outside for the first time, and I seized the opportunity to get some kitten-only pictures. Usually they are all snuggled up to Midnight, and it's hard to really see them, since they're all black. They are SO SOFT!!!
Mike and I were talking about if this gives us a tiny little glimpse into our future as Grandparents.... :-))

Please keep little Josie in your prayers!

2008-04-24T20:31:00.002-06:00

This sweet little girl is Josie, who has been home with her family for only 4 weeks. Josie had a heart defect that was surgically repaired today.
Praise the Lord, she is doing GREAT!!
You can read her updates on the Kenward Blog
Please keep praying for her recovery, and for her family - Kim and Chris, and big sister Emma!

Here is super-soccer-girl!

2008-04-20T22:50:00.003-06:00

Anya had her first 2 tournaments of the season with her traveling soccer team.
Yesterday I took her to her games, and her friend Maria came with us. Today, Mike took her to a different town for a second tournament.
When you live in Wyoming, and you have kids on a traveling team, they AIN'T KIDDING!
You travel.
You drive hours to a tournament, watch your talented offspring play, and then drive home. This spring, the tournaments are 2 hours away max, which isn't bad. Not for around here :-)).
Last fall, her team was a young team, and they lost. One game after another. It was hard to watch. But the girls had fun, and loved their little team cheer (I really think that was their favorite part!).
This weekend's games were very different. They played 6 games in all, and WON FOUR OF THEM! They were just so excited about it! Gosh, they really deserved it, too!
And they still love their team cheer :-))
Her coaches started to give out a tournament award to the most outstanding player of the day, and today Anya received the award. She was so happy and proud!

Anya is #24, on the left. She is very quick and focused, and a great team player.Yesterday, she played the goalie position for the first time. She kind of liked it, but it made her nervous, too, she said. She likes playing forward the best!
Maria, one of her best friends since Kindergarten!

Summer, where are you?

2008-04-20T13:44:00.002-06:00

In eager (or maybe desperate??) anticipation of summer, I bought Nina a new summer dress yesterday. She LOVES dresses, and although she probably has enough of them, I could not resist.

We were out of town for Anya's first soccer tournament of the season, and of course TARGET calls my name anytime I'm near one :-)). I can definitely recommend their selection - cute stuff!

Nina was a bit disgusted that she could not wear it today, but it's only in the 30's again (sigh), so I let her at least try it on and prance around in it before nap time!

Can she be any cuter?

2008-04-10T14:12:00.007-06:00

Nina had her first haircut this afternoon. We have been letting her hair grow since last summer, and it has grown LOTS. It was time to even it out a bit and trim the ends.
She really did not want to go to the salon (I did NOT cut it myself.... did that once with Anya, and I will never do it again! I buzz the two little boys, that's all I can do!).
Sitting in a chair and checking herself out in the mirror was all it took to convince her that this was actually FUN!
She loved every minute of pampering, and she was so happy with the results!
I hope she will grow up and realize what a beautiful girl she is! Not in superficial, proud and stuck up way, but in a way that gives her confidence and a love for life and others, because her beauty is inside and out!
Before going down for her nap, we did a quick photo shoot, and she was full of silliness and giggles, it was so funny.

This is what her hair looked like before
During...
getting better and better... (and yes, we're staring INTENTLY!!)
And putting the finishing touches on!

This and That

2008-04-08T22:28:00.005-06:00

This is quite a mix and match type of post.
Mike is gone all week, and he took our camera with him. Anya has a nice little camera, too, so I used hers tonight during soccer, and I decided to download all her pictures after we got home.
I found some that I would like to share....

The first one is a cute one of my best friend Andrea's little girl Ella and Miss Nina. I went back to our "old home town" in South Dakota a couple of months ago, and it was nice to introduce Nina to them! Andrea was always so excited and supportive of our adoption plans, and I love her dearly (not just for that reason, of course).
We drove by our old house and visited our old neighbors, who pretty much adopted us while we lived across the street from each other. They are an older couple whom we had so much fun with!
Just as a comparison..... this was in front of the same house in 1999 - Nico was 2, and Anya about 5 months old. And me... almost 10 years younger *LOL*
Then I found a picture of the lunar eclipse on Nina's birthday. Anya must have taken it, and I am so glad she did!
Then here is a picture of tonight's soccer game. It was a late game, and it got really cold after the sun went down. It actually SNOWED earlier this afternoon, but then it had all melted by the time soccer came around. Let me tell you, the weather has been so weird, and I'm so tired of it *Boohoo*

Nico is doing a great job this spring, and he really enjoys soccer. That's him on the left with the black hat!

Nina had a good time tonight. Her and her Mama had quite a disciplinary disagreement last night, and I think she is still mad at me. She decided that she was not going to love me anymore, just because she doesn't want to. Sigh.... I know she will come around again, and she really is not even pushing me away, but to hear those words still stings. I keep reassuring her that I love her anyway, and that Love will grow (that's why I like the poem in the sidebar so much).

So tonight at the game she was partying it up with Grandma, and I think that was really good for her. I pulled her hat down too low at one point, and she thought that it was just the funniest thing ever. She giggled and giggled about it, it was very cute!

Oh, and while I'm catching up on stuff, I'm sure you also want to know that our second Triop died too, a few days after the first one. Poor thing died of "molting complications" - basically he was unable to shed his skin properly.

And while we have one "pet" less, we are pretty sure that we have a bunch of new ones arriving in about one month. Little Miss kitty Midnight looks quite pregnant, and the kids are super excited about the prospect of having a litter of kittens soon. It should be around Anya's birthday at the beginning of May - yay!

I think she sang a song in chinese....

2008-04-02T21:28:00.004-06:00

I can't believe it, but I think I may have caught my daughter singing a song in CHINESE!
We hardly EVER heard Nina speak chinese.
Not even in China.
There were a few words here and there, right in the beginning, but after that, NOTHING. She would not speak to our guides, our chinese speaking friends, nobody.
Tonight, while I was cooking dinner, she sat on the counter, coloring. And then she started singing. It was not a song I had heard before, or that reminded me of any other song, and the words sounded very foreign.
I asked her to sing that beautiful song again, this time with my camera hidden, ready to capture the moment, but she just smiled at me and made something up.
I so want to draw those memories she has out of her, so I can help her preserve them. Her life before us has so much validity, it's so special, and she doesn't ever have to hide it, or pretend like that life didn't exist.
How I hope that her song will return.....

PS: Sorry, no swimming pictures again. Our swim - school pick up - and soccer schedule is a bit hectic right now, so I forgot the camera again!

What a way to wake up!

2008-04-02T08:45:00.002-06:00

Daughters.
So precious and sweet.
When I woke up, I found a pretty purple, flowery piece of paper on my nightstand.
Anya had written another poem.
It had come to her on the way home from the mailbox this morning, while I was still pretending to be asleep.

The sunrise today
Was so pretty and gay
With a pale blue
And some orange in there, too
The clouds here and there
were spreading everywhere
Oh! The sunrise today
was so pretty and gay!

I finally clambered out of bed, realizing that I could no longer be oblivious to the fact that children needed to be dressed, fed, and sent off to school.

Here comes Nina, hair sticking up in funny directions, frustrated with trying to get her clothes on, but with a little package under one arm, Baby whale under the other.
"Mama, here is a present for you!"

She had wrapped up her little blankie for me, and although her little eyes sparkled while I unwrapped it, she made sure I remembered it was actually hers :-)

It is a good morning.
I'm so blessed.
And sometimes it's so easy to forget that.
Or maybe that's just me.

Maybe I need to get up earlier again (like I used to and loved it!), so the sunrise will inspire me too!

Thank you, girls! I love you!

Time to jump in...

2008-03-31T20:37:00.003-06:00

Brand new, green turtle towel...... check.
Last year's still fitting Strawberry Shortcake swimming suit.... check.
Not THE red backpack, but another acceptable bag.... check.
Goggles... check.

Yep, Nina's first swimming lesson was today. Now she has really enjoyed going to the swimming pool, but is usually quite attached to me while in the water. I have been slowly getting her to be more independent and confident in the water, but letting her hop in on her own, was a little bit uncomfortable for both of us.
She was waving at me from the steps, like she was trying to say "Please, Mama, come with me...."
Ahhh, the pains of independence and growing up.
I am protective of her, she still seems so vulnerable at times, and it just hurts to let her go, by herself, into the big, bad world....

Okay, I'm slowly coming back down to reality. She is NOT GOING TO COLLEGE YET, allright????
It was SWIMMING LESSONS!
THIRTY minutes!

Okay, okay, but it was still hard! And I'm sticking to my story!

Nina did okay. She was quite hesitant, but since she has been watching her brothers for a while now, and is comfortable with the swimming instructor, it really did go okay. So now she will be swimming twice a week, and I'm expecting to see her blossom. The teacher the kids have is truly amazing, and these kids swim like it's no ones business.

Sorry, no pictures, I'll try to remember to bring the camera on Wednesday.

Demise on Day 11

2008-03-30T17:28:00.002-06:00

Well, I'm sad to say that one of our triops just died. I seriously don't know what we did wrong this time, as I have been very careful with the water changes :-))).
I guess if Terry keeps on living, it was Toby's "problem", and not mine, so we will see. The kids are not too upset this time, I guess we know now that they don't live all that long.

Her comes the pet-shop princess!

2008-03-30T13:10:00.008-06:00

I finally have some new pictures of Miss Nina! She is quite a Diva, isn't she??

For her birthday, she received a couple of duplicate gifts that I was able to exchange for some new dress-up accessories - the pink princess cape (or would you call it a royal robe instead of a cape??? Hmmmm, that DOES sound more girly...) and her sparkly slippers.

She put it all on this morning, and of course looked absolutely adorable!

She was not too excited about posing for a few flicks, as all the little petshop toys were calling her name, waiting to be played with.

She got a bit frustrated with her little charges :-)), as you can see in the video below....

And then, of course, big brother could not resist teasing little sister *sigh*. They love to get a rise out of her, because she WILL, every time. Now the video ends on a dramatic note, but take my word for it, the tears of frustration lasted about as long as it took me to turn off the camera. No child was harmed in the making of this movie.... :-))

Just a quick note regarding my camera, that Tami asked about - I have a very simple point-and-shoot digital camera (Nikon coolpix 5600), that is so so so slow when I use the flash, but I usually have a few pictures that turn out okay. I see a Canon Rebel in my future, but not in my immediate future :-))

First soccer practice

2008-03-30T12:31:00.000-06:00

Last week the kids had their first soccer practices. Alex, Elia, and Nina are on the same team, and Mike is coaching. Nina did much better than I would have expected, and was a happy girl throughout practice. They have their first game on Tuesday, so we'll see how that goes :-)

We have had so much fun with this....

2008-03-24T18:56:00.005-06:00

Nina's friend Susu's Mom Amy (go that??) sent me this link a few days ago, and it has been an instant hit at our house.
It's so funny because Anya LOVES the original song by Carrie Underwood (Jesus take the wheel)....
So, without further to do - here is "Cletus take the Reel"....

Once we watched this video about 20 times, we ventured intoTim Hawkin's other clips, and they are equally funny!
Here are a couple of our favorites:

Another one is very funny, too, it's called "Tim Hawkins on church", but out of respect for the religious groups mentioned in the first part, I won't directly link it. The second part of it, though, is HILARIOUS!

Easter pictures

2008-03-23T21:49:00.005-06:00

Welcome to a freezy-breezy Wyoming Easter! Brrrrr - more snow and ice last night, so the kids were not too excited about posing for an Easter picture :-))))

Hunting for their Easter nests and Easter eggs - a mix of traditions from the US and Switzerland. Most of their Easter treats were sent to them from my Mom! Danke, Mueti!

Daddy and his girls!

A little bit of snuggle time with Daddy!

And going in for the smooch! How sweet is that!

Elia was a happy camper

The youngest two hanging out on the couch with their loot

Easter dinner! The kids love our annual Bread-Bunny!

Easter preparations - our favorite part!

2008-03-23T20:56:00.006-06:00

I received this recipe from a friend here in town, and as I'm always looking for new and meaningful traditions to add to "US", this surely was a winner.

(the red additions are my comments)

Resurrection Day Story Cookies

(To be made the evening before Easter)

You need:
1 cup whole pecans (we used 1/2 pecans, and 1/2 almonds)
1 tsp. Vinegar
3 egg whites
Pinch salt
1 cup sugar
Zipper baggie
Wooden spoon (totally get that point now, after a couple of the kids got whacked with the metal ones!)
Tape
Bible

Preheat oven to 300 degrees (this is important-don't wait until you're half done with the recipe)!

( I think, next year I will try 350 degrees - it seemed like it could have used just a little bit more heat)

Place pecans in zipper baggie and let children beat them with the wooden spoon to break into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested.He was beaten by the Roman soldiers.
Read John 19:1-3.

Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. Vinegar into mixing bowl.
Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross, He was given vinegar to drink.
Read John 19:28-30.

Add egg whites to vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life.
Read John 10:10-11.

Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it and
brush the rest into the bowl. Explain that this represents the salty
tears shed by Jesus' followers, and the bitterness of our own sin.
Read Luke 23:27.

So far, the ingredients are not very appetizing. Add 1cup sugar.
Explain t hat the sweetest part of the story is that Jesus died because
He loves us. He wants us to know and belong to Him.
Read Ps. 34:8 and John 3:16.

Beat with a mixer on high speed for 12 to 15 minutes until stiff peaks
are formed. Explain that the color white represents --in God's eyes --
the purity of those whose sins have been cleansed by Jesus.
Read Isaiah 1:18 and John 3:1-3.

Fold in broken nuts. Drop by teaspoons onto wax paper-covered cookie sheet. Explain that each mound represents the rocky tomb where Jesus' body was laid.
Read Matt. 27:57-60.
Put the cookie sheet in the oven, close the door and turn the oven
OFF. Give each child a piece of tape and seal the oven door. Explain that Jesus' tomb was sealed.
Read Matt. 27:65-66.

GO TO BED! Explain that they may feel sad to leave the cookies in the oven overnight. (They did!) Jesus' followers were in despair when the tomb was sealed.
Read John 16:20 and 22.

On Easter morning, open the oven and give everyone a cookie. Notice the cracked surface and take a bite. The cookies are hollow! (That caused quite a stir! And lots of "Why?"'s)
On the first Easter, Jesus' followers were amazed to find the tomb open and empty.
Read Matt. 28:1-9

The following picture was not part of the recipe, but everyone's favorite part anyway!!

Easter preparations, Part 1

2008-03-23T20:41:00.003-06:00

This year, our Easter preparations were all kind of last-minute. Although the kids were out of school all week, we did not get any decorations up, let alone dye Easter eggs until Saturday.

Nina was so excited about all the activities, and I'm sure this was her first Easter celebration. Don't worry, baby girl, there will be many more to come!

I had purchased this egg dye kit a few years ago, and never used it - boy do I know why! It was a MESS! Oil based dye everywhere, sparkles everywhere..... *sigh*. Do NOT recommend oil based dye at all! The funny thing is - I'm the one that frets over stuff like that - the kids who helped had a blast, and Nina loved to be the "sprinkler of the sparkles" - she is such a sparkly kind of girl! They don't even care that their hands still look like they haven't washed them in weeks :-)))).

Anyway, here is the finished products, and with a slight grumble I have to admit that the eggs turned out rather charming....

I lift my eyes up to the hills.... where does my help come from?

2008-03-22T10:25:00.010-06:00

... My help comes from the Lord, the maker of the universe....

You can just FEEL the truth of this verse when you're up in the mountains...

*****

Yeah, we finally did it! We went skiing yesterday ~ and it was so fun. Well, for the most part...

We did not get to the ski area until after 11am, and then it was the rental mayhem that took quite some time, so we did not get out into the snow until noon.

That's when it got tough.

Nico and Anya had skied or snowboarded once before (Nico twice), so they were adamant about going on the lift right away, which was just not gonna work.... as we had three hot, cranky, fit-throwing and in-the-snow laying 4, 5, and 7 year olds (there are no pictures of that part of the day :-) )

Mike was about ready to head back home at that time :-)

We looked at each other, and said: Where is Big'e Anja when we REALLY NEED HER?????

Thank goodness we had decided at the last minute, to sign up the three older ones for lessons, otherwise I believe the afternoon would have turned ugly quickly.... but the lessons were definitely the best investment we made!

Once Anya, Nico, and Alex went to their lessons, we could focus on Elia and Nina. We pulled them up on a little hill, and they both caught on very quickly. Nina was quite a natural, doing the snowplow and figuring out the edges. Elia just wanted to go FAST, caring less about the technical details. But both of them ended up skiing by themselves after a while, which we were very impressed with. By the time they were tired, the lessons were over, and I had a chance to ski with Anya and Nico for a while. Well, Nico snowboarded, and he likes that much better, and he is learning! Anya did very well for only having skiied twice, and I ended up taking her up on the bigger hill, and she did great!

Alex was all smiles after his lesson was over, too. Although he doesn't have the leg strength to do the snowplow, he did great once we put the little tip-connector thingies on his skies that we were had borrowed from our neighbors (as well as Nina's skies, and my skies! - Thanks, Pat and Jean!).

Anya and I were the last ones coming down from the mountain, and we were tired.

And sore today!

What a great way to spend the day outside, up in the beautiful creation of our God, enjoying the snow, the sun, the wind.

And today piles of laundry are waiting, and that's okay too!

Another benefit.... we already know what to get the kids for Christmas!! Yeah!

We also had the privilege of meeting another adoptive family, who adopted their daughter from Korea, and are now in the process of adopting a Waiting Child from China. It's so fun how there is an instant connection to other adoptive families!

Here are some pictures of the gang!

Elia cruising down the hill

Nina and her Mama-lift

Getting ready to go down

Nico, the happy snowboarder (not having enough room under his helmet for all that hair! )

I have flashbacks when I look at this picture! I had a green snowsuit when I was in 1st or 2nd grade, and I have pictures of me in the same snowplow pose than Anya! So funny!

Alex and his ski instructor